


Season 1, Episode 4: Common Ground

by Peaches and RAmen (Peachy00Keen)



Series: Star Trek: Babel [7]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek - Various Authors, Star Trek Online
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aliens, Delegation, Diplomacy, Espionage, F/F, F/M, Gen, Grottians, Humans, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Other, Political Alliances, Politics, Romance, Science, Science Fiction, Slice of Life, Star Trek References, Star Trek: Babel, Strux, Tellarites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 28,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23864560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peachy00Keen/pseuds/Peaches%20and%20RAmen
Summary: Babel intercepts a standoff between two alien vessels, one of which belongs to the Strux, an alien race whose last encounter with the crew was certainly a memorable one. Babel and her captain become host and arbiter for heated trade negotiations between the two species in their dispute over rights to a planet rich in resources and, for the Grottians, ancestral claims.
Series: Star Trek: Babel [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623328
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

“Captain, you do realize that we set a quarterly requirement for physical examinations for a reason?” Clara said as she stared down at the screen of the medical tricorder in her hands.

“I agree that regulations are important, Doctor, but captaining a starship is busywork,” Raj replied, shuffling uncomfortably on the examination table. “Besides, you have me here now. Let’s just get this over with.”

“I’m one of the last people you need to remind how busy working on a starship is, Captain, but following health regulations is just as much a matter of duty as commanding the bridge.” The older woman turned her back to him and picked up a second device, which she pressed gently against his temple. “One of the most important elements in any good community is trust. If your crew doesn’t trust you, it won’t run smoothly. Likewise, if you don’t trust them, everyone suffers.”

Raj let out a frustrated sigh and began to drum his fingertips rhythmically against the side of the table. “And what does you prodding at me have to do with my crew’s trust, Doctor?”

Clara lowered the device and looked at Raj directly. “Am I not one of your crew?”

“Point taken, Doctor, but this isn’t about working together, it’s about you scanning and probing me when I’m clearly doing fine. If I feel sick, I’ll come to you. If you want to talk to me about how this ship operates, pick somewhere other than sickbay and we can talk all you like.”

Clara folded her arms across her chest and leaned her hip against a nearby biobed. “Without a doctor, you would have no one to treat your ailments. Without good health, you would not be able to captain this ship.” Her bedside manner had shifted from friendly but stern to something far more businesslike and decisive. “I don’t care how busy you are, you are scheduled for quarterly checkups, and I expect you to keep that schedule. If Mister Naazt waited for something to go wrong with the warp cores before running an assessment, we would all be at risk. For you to wait until something goes wrong before coming to see the doctor is not only a breach of protocol, it is irresponsible. This ship needs a captain who is alive and well and who has passed _my_ inspection. If I need to start treating you as a live-in patient who is intent on missing his appointments, I am more than happy to have you personally escorted from whatever you are doing to come have your physical.”

“Damn it, Clara, this is ridiculous!” Raj snapped back. “I’m a Starfleet captain, not some invalid in your hospital! I made my way down here for your physical, didn’t I? If I’ve been too busy stopping attacks on Federation stations, rescuing crewmembers from the middle of a civil war, or trying to save the ship from every rogue space monster on this side of the quadrant, I’m sorry. I’ll try to let them know to schedule their crises around your agenda in the future!”

Her eyes remained locked with his for a moment, two intense stares each trying to outmatch the will of the other. Eventually, the doctor sighed and shifted her weight to stand back up and walk over to lean against his biobed. “Raj, I understand that your work is important to you, but being obstinate about something as simple as a medical exam is ridiculous. It frustrates me that I don’t have the same kind of authority over my patients as I used to back at Salpêtrière, but to me, when someone avoids their appointments, it generally means something is wrong. Maybe that is something I just need to get used to with you, but understand, at least, how it looks to me.” She reached up and placed a hand gently on his shoulder as she stood up again. “You and I aren’t as young as we used to be, and as much as we’d like to think that our bodies remain as sharp as our wits, that isn’t always true. Your crew and I need to be able to trust that you are taking care of yourself as well as they are taking care of this ship.”

Raj ran a hand through his beard and shook his head. “You’re right, of course. Call it an old trauma if you want, but I just can’t make myself feel comfortable in a sickbay. I don’t want us to be enemies, Doctor. We can both be stubborn, and we’re both struggling with some of our new expectations, but I want us to be able to work together and trust each other. I just find it difficult to do that in this room. Now, I do have work to do, if you’re done with your scans, but I’d like to continue this discussion soon, maybe when we’re not on duty. If you won’t get bored talking to an old man, that is.”

Clara laughed and set down the device she was holding alongside the others on the table. “I’m not in much of a position to cast stones when it comes to age. Some more mature company would be a welcome change.” When she turned back to him this time, all traces of gravity were gone from her expression. The lines on her face that had seemed so deeply-drawn and serious before were now light and seemingly worn with love despite the stresses of her job. “Besides, it’s always good for a doctor to get to know her patients.”


	2. Chapter 2

_First Officer’s Log, Stardate 48713.9: For the past week,_ Babel _and her crew have been studying the development of exoplanets in the nebula surrounding the Sigma Ionis system. The planets formed in this nebula have been made of unusually heavy elements. Our goal is to learn why these planets are so different from the others we’ve encountered and learn what resources they might hold. Because of the surrounding nebula, the system within can only be studied at close range. So far, we’ve been able to determine the existence of a planet with deuterium oceans and another with a crust composition of roughly forty percent iron. Far more intriguing than any of the in-system bodies is the possibility of a rogue planet adrift in the nebula. We are currently on our way to verify its existence and learn more about this unusual world and how it came to be._


	3. Chapter 3

“Lieutenant Caldwell, have we finished those reports on the secondary asteroid belt yet?” Shannon asked over her shoulder. She’d been looking out the main viewer between reading survey data on her PADD from the comfort of the captain’s chair. Nearing the end of the report on Sigma Ionis II, the dense iron-crusted planet near the center of the system, she was ready for the next report if they were ready to give it to her.

“I’m sending it your way right now, Commander.” Lieutenant Caldwell turned around in his chair at the back of the bridge. “At a quick glance, the belt appears to be composed primarily of heavy metal-rich asteroids, traces of deuterium, and a few small planetoids with no obvious atmosphere. While it gives us a good basis for the composition of the system, there didn’t appear to be anything terribly exciting scattered among the debris.”

“Very good, Lieutenant. Thank you for the update.” Shannon looked down at her PADD as a notification blinked at the top of her screen, indicating the arrival of the new document. As fascinating as exploring a new system was, the nitty-gritty of the geology wasn’t something that exhilarated her quite as much as it did the ship’s head geologist.

As she finished the final sentences on the first report and began opening and reading the new one, Ensign Brahms spoke up. “Commander, the Class R planet is coming into view now.”

Grateful for something to look at besides elemental spreadsheets and compositional analyses, Shannon set the PADD down on the arm of her chair and sat up straight. As they dropped out of warp, the dimly-lit planet turned slowly against the colorful backdrop of the nebula. Its surface churned, a bluish-green mottling against a molten orange sea. All alone, some five light-years outside of Sigma Ionis’ heliopause, the planet was a lone wolf, adrift in space with no star to call home. For a moment, everyone on the bridge was speechless, absorbing the breathtaking view before them.

Shannon cleared her throat quietly to break the silence. “Lieutenant Caldwell, start a spectral analysis on the planet, and let’s see what she’s made of.”

“Right away, Commander.”

“Sir,” the dark-haired woman sitting at the ops station interjected, turning around with her brow furrowed, “our sensors are picking up two ships on the far side of the planet. They both appear to be engaged in a standoff: shields up, weapons charged.”

“Ensign Brahms, take us around slowly. Ensign Jemison, hail the ships once we have them in sight.”

“Aye, Commander,” David answered as the ship yawed gently, steering wide of the planet.

Within minutes, around the far side of the planet, two ships facing nose to nose came into view. The nearer of the two ships was an unusual design, sleek and rounded, much like a three-headed version of an Olympic Class science vessel whose nacelles had been replaced with oblong spade-shaped fins. The other ship, which was facing them, sent a chill down Shannon’s spine. Four forward-angled spires came to a focus in front of a pyramidal body. The only light on the ship’s dark hull came from the rust-hued windows along the spires’ lengths. _What are the Strux doing out here?_

“Sir, they’re hailing us,” Ensign Jemison announced, jarring Shannon out of her personal stasis.

“On screen.”

The serenely isolated planetary vista that filled the main viewer was replaced with the glowering orange and black mug of the Strux captain. “This is Captain Zhistran Dako of the Strux vessel _Khree_ . This is a private matter between the [ Grottians ](https://www.deviantart.com/chirun/art/Commission-Race-portrait-Abyssians-615276848) and the [ Strux ](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/438960294905641356/). It has nothing to do with the Federation. Turn your ship around and leave this planet’s orbit.”

“This is Commander Shannon O’Malley of the Federation starship _Babel_. We are here with no ill intent. Our ship was surveying a nearby planetary system when our sensors picked up this planet in the middle of the nebula. We are here only to study.”

“Commander, the other ship appears to be hailing us as well,” Ensign Jemison said quickly after briefly muting their side of the transmission.

“On screen as well,” Shannon ordered.

A slender, graceful face with pale, purple-tinted skin and deep indigo hair cut short and styled into soft spikes squeezed the Strux captain’s visage off to the side as the new transmission claimed half of the viewscreen. “This is Captain Timos Kimal of the Grottian ship _Speleos_. We are requesting assistance.” His eyes conveyed an overwhelming amount of panic, though the captain’s stare was eerily vacant. His opalescent-teal eyes had no pupils, and his gaze appeared to see both all and nothing simultaneously.

Shannon introduced herself again for the benefit of the Grottian captain before proceeding. “What kind of assistance do you require?”

“They require no assistance!” interjected the Strux captain. “They are interfering in Strux affairs. We have a rightful claim to this planet and its resources and we intend to exercise our right to defend what is ours.”

“Commander,” the Grottian captain begged, “this planet is an orphan of the nearby Sigma Ionis system. Our people originally lived on a planet in the neighboring Delta Ionis system on the planet Gypsus. When quakes shook the planet, they collapsed the underground tunnel networks we called home and drove us off-world. This planet and its estranged star belonged to our people long before the Strux came in and claimed this sector of space as their own.”

Captain Dako scoffed. “Tell me you don’t honestly believe this pandering. You’re a Starfleet officer. You ought to be smarter than that. Where is the proof? Are we supposed to take this claim in good faith? This is Strux space, Kimal. Turn your ship around and fly back to the hole you and your crew crawled out of.”

“Commander O’Malley, please,” Captain Kimal pleaded again. “Help us end this petty dispute once and for all.”

“How do you propose I do that, Captain?” Shannon proceeded cautiously. Her last meeting with a member of the Strux Hegemony was not one she would be forgetting anytime soon, and _Babel_ was a long way away from reinforcements if things went south. With two fully-armed and ready ships nearly as large as the Nebula-class in which she sat, there was little room for error. “This _is_ Strux space. I have little jurisdiction over matters in this sector. I am a neutral party in this debate.”

“Perhaps that is just what we need, a neutral party.” Captain Kimal’s fan-like ears twitched slightly at some subtle background noise on his bridge. “I would humbly request that your Federation act as an adjudicator to the land dispute between the Strux Hegemony and the Grottian Republic.”

“Captain Dako,” Shannon said, directing her attention now to the irritated-looking Strux glaring at her on the main viewer. “Do you agree to formal conciliation regarding the rights to this planet?”

“I don’t see why all of this formality is necessary,” he snapped. “The planet clearly lies within Strux space. Any claim these troglodytes may have had to this planet is long gone and backed by nothing but folk tales.”

“If that’s the case then you should have nothing to worry about. These proceedings will be based on tangible evidence, not hearsay. Should the Grottians present no formal documentation to back their claim, ownership of the planet would fall to the Strux Hegemony.” Shannon kept her expression neutral as she explained. “Based on what you have both said so far, the case seems to lean in your favor. Agreeing to an interceding would guarantee that ownership is decided quickly and without costing either side precious resources.”

The Strux captain grunted and narrowed his beady eyes. “You make a compelling argument, Commander.” He sat back emphatically in his chair. “Fine! Fine. We shall make use of the Federation as a mediator.”

 _Babel_ ’s bridge became uncomfortably silent as everyone’s eyes were fixed on either the screen or on Shannon. “Very well. _Babel_ will serve as neutral grounds for a formal conference regarding the rightful ownership of this Class R planet,” she announced firmly as the pit of her stomach coiled and churned. “Our ship’s captain, Raj Murali, will serve as your arbiter during these negotiations. Captains Dako and Kimal, select your representatives. They will stay on board this ship as guests for the duration of the negotiations. Lower your shields, power down your weapons, and have your delegates ready to beam over to _Babel_ in two hours. Are these terms agreeable?”

“Most agreeable,” acknowledged Captain Kimal, bowing his head slightly.

Captain Dako rolled his eyes. “If we must,” he conceded.

“Excellent. We shall make preparations to receive your representatives in two hours’ time. O’Malley out.”

Ensign Jemison cut the transmission and the main viewer blinked back to the serene view of the cooling planet, its molten surface glowing like dying embers beneath the fractured crust. Shannon slid back in her chair and let out a long, tense sigh. _What have we gotten ourselves into?_


	4. Chapter 4

“You agreed to _what_?” Raj leaned back in his chair, searching for the right words to capture the significance of what they’d just consented to.

Shannon paced the length of his ready room with her hands clasped behind her back, her fingers working anxiously. “I thought announcing our presence was less likely to get us killed than snooping around the far side of an alien planet while two ships waited with weapons at the ready just over the horizon. I wasn’t expecting them to hail us first, let alone drag us into a peace negotiation!”

“It wasn’t them who dragged us into a negotiation, Commander. You volunteered for this. More precisely, you volunteered _me_ for this. And now we have the Strux of all people about to roam about our ship because you felt the need to interfere.”

“I mean,” she faltered, clearly grasping at straws for excuses, “we’re out here to explore new life and new civilizations, right? Adjudication is an element of exploring? It may be a slight disambiguation, but this is a unique opportunity to interact with two races we know very little about. Who better to lead us into a new realm of social discourse than you?”

Raj ran his hand through his beard in an effort to hide a smile. “Cultural anthropology, right?”

Shannon paused for a moment in confusion. “Sir?”

“That was your first doctorate, according to your record. It shows, Commander.”

She stopped pacing and stood to face him in the center of the room. “I don’t understand.”

“We’re out here on an exploratory mission, and the moment you come face to face with two hostile civilizations on the brink of a battle, one of which is known to be hostile toward the Federation, and your first instinct is to get everyone to set aside their differences and talk, and to hell with the risk. Some captains would find that naïve, others impulsive. Frankly, I tend to agree with both. I also find it incredibly admirable.”

The lieutenant commander’s hands dropped to her sides as her mouth opened and closed again before she could manage to utter a sentence. “Sir, I still don’t think I follow. Am I being reprimanded or praised for my actions?”

“Both,” Raj laughed. “As a Ferengi I once knew told me, ‘a wager is only bad if you lose.’ Starfleet’s history is full of great officers who became famous for actions that probably should have gotten them or their crew killed or otherwise damaged the Federation. Instead, be it through luck or skill they managed to do great things. If this works out, Commander, it could be one of your finer command moments.”

“Then… thank you, I think.” Shannon shook her head. “Regardless of what _might_ happen, what are we going to do right now? We have two delegation parties due to beam aboard this ship in just under two hours. They’ve never seen your face before and we have no idea if the representatives will be any more hospitable toward one another than their captains were.”

“What we do now is follow through on the promise you made. I’ll be your arbiter, but that leaves you in charge of organizing the talks and accommodating each delegation’s needs. Lieutenant Barnes will need to arrange for security for each group, both for their safety and ours, and we’ll need to ready the conference room for an opening discussion, preferably over dinner. Get each delegation to provide any dietary or cultural guidelines they have, and make sure that we follow them. I’ll expect a full report sent to me before the first delegation arrives. Can you handle all of that?”

“So long as they’re willing to cooperate,” she said with a nod. “It shouldn’t be any trouble at all. I can get to work on sending out those requests as soon as we’re done here.”

“I’m counting on it, Commander. Dismissed.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Why me?” Jeremy asked as he and Jessica walked toward Transporter Room Three. “I’m a geologist, not a diplomatic liaison.”

“You’re also the most senior officer available right now, and as an officer, escorting dignitaries does fall into your job description. Besides, these people are all here to fight over a bunch of rocks, so who better than you to keep them company?”

“I would rather spend time with the rocks if we’re being honest,” he mumbled under his breath as the door to the transporter room opened in front of them. They assumed their positions off to the side of the transporter chief’s station, and Jeremy adjusted his formal tunic uncomfortably. _I hate these things. They’re all the worst things about dresses and suits combined into one disaster._

The curly-haired transporter chief turned, offered a passing glance to Jeremy, and made eye contact with Jessica. “The Grottian dignitaries are ready to beam aboard on your command, Lieutenant Barnes.”

“Energize.”

The transporter pad hummed to life as light particles gathered and coalesced into vaguely humanoid shapes. As the dignitaries materialized, Jeremy recognized the face of the Grottian captain, Kimal, standing at the front left of the group. Beside him was another male with a remarkably similar hairstyle. They were both dressed in shades of deep purple and midnight blue accented with braids of silver. Jeremy and Jessica stepped forward as they stepped down from the platform. Standing behind the captain and his companion were two Grottian females, one older and one younger. The older woman wore robes similar to those of the captain’s associate. The younger one, however, wore a much simpler robe with less filigree and an ornate silver earring.

Jeremy’s eyes swept over the first three members of the group, leaving him thoroughly unimpressed and still fairly nervous about the ordeal to come. When he came to the younger woman standing behind the captain, however, he began to reconsider his opinion on being appointed as a member of the escort party. He let himself study her features for a moment too long as her glassy eyes shifted and he suddenly felt the sensation that she was looking at him. A small, intimate smile tugged at one corner of her mouth before she was urged forward by the movement of her party. Jeremy cleared his throat quietly and quickly found something else to look at as he and Jessica stepped forward.

Both groups met at the center of the transporter room. Captain Kimal bowed to Jeremy and Jessica. “I would once again like to extend my gratitude to you and your commanding officers,” he said. “We believe this will be a much more amicable solution to our quarrels than a military confrontation.”

The lieutenant returned Kimal’s bow, and Jeremy hastily followed suit. Jessica shook the Grottian captain’s hand and gestured toward Jeremy. 

“We’re honored to receive you, Captain. I’m Lieutenant Jessica Barnes, Chief of Security aboard _Babel_. This is Lieutenant Jeremy Caldwell. We’ll show you to your quarters now, but if there’s anything at all that you need, let one of us know and we’ll be happy to help you however we can. I’ll provide you with a set of Starfleet-issue combadges you can use to reach us at any time. They’ll also allow the ship’s computer to recognize you, which will give you access to the replicators, turbolifts, and any non-restricted information in our library.”

Jessica took the lead and ushered the delegation out into the hallway. Jeremy silently followed the group out, nodding thanks to the transporter chief on the way out.

“Your quarters will be on the opposite end of the ship from the Strux representatives,” Jessica explained. “To ensure the safety of all visiting parties as well as that of our crew, security escorts--”

“I saw you watching me earlier,” said a soft, melodic voice. Jeremy pulled his head out of the clouds and looked down at the young Grottian woman whose pace he had been unconsciously following as she brought up the rear of the group. She had dropped them back a couple of paces to give them some separation from the other delegates without looking like they were lagging behind. “What’s the matter? Are you embarrassed you were caught?”

“What? No!” he laughed, keeping his voice quiet. “I mean, yes, I was looking at your traveling group. This is our first time encountering your people. I apologize if I was being rude. That wasn’t my intent.”

“Oh, I’m aware that wasn’t your intent, Jeremy.” She paused and looked up at him briefly. “May I call you Jeremy?” Her voice was delicate and sweet, dancing hypnotically from word to word.

“I don’t see why not,” he shrugged with a casual smile. As she looked away, he chanced another glance. The silver earring that accented the webbing of her ear swung in time with her steps. Her hair reminded him of the night sky back on Earth, nearly black with a hint of velvety blue. He cleared his throat again. “That is, so long as I don’t have to call you ‘delegate.’”

“Irava,” she stated plainly.

“Irava, then. If you need anything, just let me know. I’m here to make sure that you and your delegation are looked after.”

She inclined her head to look up at Jeremy and her dark lips formed another small smile. “I don’t doubt that our stay here will be most pleasant.”

“These four rooms have been reserved for your use during the duration of your stay,” Jessica said, speaking up and bringing Jeremy and Irava back into the main conversation. “They are equipped with replicators that have been specially programmed to produce your native cuisine, and the climate has been set to better match the conditions aboard your ship.” She stepped in front of one of the doors, allowing it to open and reveal a darkened room. “If you find you need anything, Lieutenant Caldwell or a member of my security crew will be available to escort you or otherwise provide assistance.”

“A formal dinner with our senior staff and the members of the Strux delegation will be held in the conference room at nineteen-hundred hours,” Jeremy added. “I will be by shortly before then to escort you there. If you need anything else between now and then, you can reach me over the combadges Lieutenant Barnes gave you upon arrival.”

“We appreciate the hospitality, Lieutenant,” Captain Kimal said with a nod. “We shall eagerly await your arrival.” Jeremy returned the nod, and as the delegation retreated into their rooms, his eyes were once again glued to Irava.


	6. Chapter 6

_Captain’s Log, Supplemental: The Strux and Grottian delegations have been beamed aboard, and we have been provided with an extensive list of accommodations required for each group. Chief Naazt and his team are working rapidly to make the required changes, and our limited hospitality staff is currently preparing for our introductory dinner. From the manifest I read earlier, this meal should provide the first test of our ability to handle diversity, though the price of failure is likely to be limited to indigestion. I like to think of myself as well-cultured in the culinary field, but even I find myself intimidated by the Strux diet, which bears a remarkable similarity to Klingon cuisine._

_With the delegations settled in their quarters and preparations underway, I’ve turned my focus to the task ahead, which will not be an easy one. The Sigma Ionis system does not appear to have had any significant Strux activity in its history aside from an initial survey completed a decade ago, but it remains well inside their borders. The system itself is incredibly valuable, with rich mineral deposits and several anomalies of scientific interest, which I’ve taken the liberty of having our science department collect data on while we are here. All signs would point to the Strux having the strongest claim to this region of space, but I am intrigued by the records sent by Captain Kimal of the Grottian ship, which does detail their departure from Delta Ionis centuries ago, and the Grottians have stressed the deep cultural significance of this sector to their people. Convincing either of them to back down will be difficult, and even a successful ceasefire here would likely not be permanent. What I need is to find a solution that benefits both parties, and encourages long-term cooperation to ensure a lasting peace._


	7. Chapter 7

The door to the ready room opened, and Commander O’Malley hurried inside with a PADD in hand. As soon as the door closed behind her, her aura of control faltered, and her weariness began to show.

“Please take a seat, Commander,” Raj urged as he cleared a set of reports from his monitor. “What do you have for me?”

Shannon dropped heavily into the chair and turned the PADD around to face him. “Our systems show that neither delegation has seemed particularly interested in leaving their rooms thus far. The Strux have been accessing computer files to learn about Federation negotiation policies, which I found rather resourceful. The Grottians have requested only that the ship’s computer play them sounds of moving water.” She leaned back in the chair and rolled her head to stretch her neck. “I guess everyone has their own way of preparing for a legal battle.”

Raj shrugged. “I suppose every culture is different. I’m curious as to how the Grottians expect to argue their case, though. While it could be argued that this system was once theirs, it hasn’t been so in over two hundred years, and I don’t know that the Strux can be blamed for claiming the sector when the Grottians abandoned it, regardless of the cause.”

“I’m not sure either, Captain, but they must have some kind of trick up their sleeve. Why else would they be so keen on requesting a formal summit to settle it legally? I suppose we’ll find out eventually, but for now, I think we should be grateful that the two of them have agreed not to open fire on one another. It’ll give us an opportunity to do at least some surveying before we get shooed out of the sector.”

“That brings me to why I called you here, Commander. If I am to be the arbiter for this negotiation, I need to remain neutral, and the best way to do that is to remain distant when we are not at the negotiating table. I have Lieutenants Barnes and Caldwell working with the Grottians, and I want you to act as our attaché to the Strux. I’m surprised that they agreed to this meeting as well, given their brief history with us. Find out what they know about us and what they’re hiding for me, and you may be able to provide us with an advantage in our next encounter.”

“How do you propose I do that?” Shannon leaned forward and lowered her voice slightly. “They don’t exactly seem like the type to engage in small talk.”

“I didn’t say it would be easy,” he replied. “You’re going to need to find some common ground with them. Do your best to represent them and their interests, and use every resource at your disposal to get the information you need. The first thing you can do though is go reintroduce yourself and start talking. You never know what you might discover if you go in with an open mind.”

“Aye, sir.” Shannon got to her feet and retrieved the PADD from his desk. “Will that be all?”

“Just one more thing: Good luck with the food.”


	8. Chapter 8

Shannon stepped out of the captain’s ready room and made her way to the first turbolift. _This is ridiculous,_ she thought to herself as the doors opened to allow her in. “Deck Eight.” The lift whirred into motion and she slumped back against the wall. “This is exactly why I think they should never have put me in command. Praiseworthy or not, this whole thing seems like a stupid risk, and the only reason I took it in the first place was because I panicked and it seemed like a good idea. Now I’m stuck with this delegation, babysitting a bunch of adversaries, at least half of whom would likely rather we were dead, and wondering why in the hell Admiral Patterson thought I was even remotely qualified for this position.”

The doors opened and she stepped out into the hallway of Deck Eight and made her way toward her quarters. As soon as the heavy doors had shut behind her, Shannon peeled off the tunic and tossed it over the arm of her couch. “Under any of my previous stations, this sort of encounter would have been fantastic. Two alien races, one unfamiliar and the other on questionable terms, gathered under the pretense of neutrality aboard our ship. It’s an anthropologist’s dream. The observations would be invaluable to future diplomatic missions.” She shed her clothes in a trail leading to the bathroom and turned on the shower. “But, I’m not here as an anthropologist. I’m not even here as a psychologist or an any-other-thing-ologist. I’m here as a diplomatic liaison and first officer of a neutral vessel.” She pulled her hair out of the tight braid she’d had it in and shook out its thick red lengths before stepping into the hot shower. “The best thing about this position is the running water. Trying to think in a sonic shower just isn’t the same.”

Some time later, Shannon turned off the tap and stepped out of the shower feeling slightly more confident in her abilities and significantly refreshed. Wrapping her hair in a towel, she retraced her steps and picked up her scattered uniform, making a stop at the replicator. “Coffee, black, hot.” Moments later, a cup of steaming dark liquid materialized in front of her. She picked it up and took in a deep breath. “Oh, the Federation may have programmed out the deleterious effects of synthesized alcohol, but no one is foolish enough to try to wean us off of caffeine.” Shannon took a long sip and savored the gentle burn as it ran down the back of her throat. With her clothes draped over her arm and a cup of coffee in one hand, she made her way back to her bedroom and took a seat on the edge of her bed.

After another couple of sips, the small cup was empty. With a frown, she paced it on her nightstand and stood up to shake out her clothes. The breeze rustled the chimes at the head of her bed. She looked at them and gently set them into motion with her index finger. “I guess I can relate to the Grottian’s request for sounds of running water. It probably reminds them of home. I can certainly appreciate that.” As the tinkling of the metal chimes faded, Shannon rolled her shoulders and picked up her dress uniform. “Well, no point in delaying the inevitable any longer.”

Once dressed, she smoothed the covers on her bed, readjusted the green blanket and its scrawling white knot patterns, recycled her cup, and headed for the door. “Welcome to command, Miss O’Malley,” she said to herself and she walked out into the hallway.


	9. Chapter 9

The members of the Strux delegation were situated in four adjacent cabins not far down the hall from her own. The Grottians were arranged similarly on the other end of Deck Eight. When she’d left them to their quarters earlier, she had also given them instructions to meet in their captain’s suite in time to leave for dinner. Shannon approached the first of the four rooms and rang the door chime.

A harsh voice answered from inside. “What is it you want _now_ , Ghravis?”

“Captain Dako, this is Lieutenant Commander O’Malley. Are you accepting visitors presently?”

The door opened and the Strux captain loomed before her. “As long as you’re not here to ask me a series of petulant questions about why the replicators are doing one thing or another, yes, some company would be appreciated.”

Shannon fought to keep her surprise at the invitation hidden and proceeded into the captain’s suite once he’d stepped aside. The door closed behind her. “Have your delegates been experiencing issues with the ship’s provisions?”

“No,” he replied sternly, taking a seat and rubbing his temples momentarily. The single word hung there as if it were the start to a larger thought, but Captain Dako offered nothing further.

“Well, if there are any troubles, please don’t hesitate to let us know. New food programs are occasionally somewhat uncooperative. It would only take a moment to fix.” Shannon gestured to a chair across from where the captain had taken a seat. “May I join you?”

“Yes, yes. No sense standing about. I guarantee you they won’t be here earlier than they have to.”

Shannon lowered herself into the chair and watched as the captain took a drink of water, pointedly avoiding eye contact with her. “Captain Dako, is something the matter?”

He looked up and glared at her with piercing black eyes. “‘Is something the matter?’ Yes, something is the matter! These interlopers are trying to retroactively claim pieces of our territory by saying it’s one thing or another to their ancestors. The Grottians are nothing but resource-grubbing vagrants who travel the stars trying to con their way into whatever valuable market pleases them on any given day.”

“You don’t believe their ancestral claims?”

“No, I don’t believe their ‘ancestral claims!’” he shouted, cutting her off. “Anyone who does is either a fool or blissfully naïve. Their race originated somewhere in the Delta Therian system or something like that. Wherever it was, it was nowhere near this nebula or anything in it.”

“What brings them here then?” The Strux were proving to be far more conversational than she’d expected. As unnerving as it was to be sitting around a coffee table casually discussing interstellar politics with a Strux captain, she found it preferable to the alternative and did her best to relax. “The Therian systems are several days away at warp speed, at least, aren’t they?”

“Closer to a couple of weeks,” he said, waving a hand dismissively. “They’re here for the same reason I’m sure you and your ship are. This nebula is rich in heavy elements, making its planets valuable resources should anyone be in need of those elements.”

“With all due respect, Captain, we came here to study the nebula and its contents, not to claim any rights to them.”

“Regardless, the elements drew you here as it drew them. This planet we’re orbiting is rich in dilithium. I imagine I don’t need to explain to you the value of such a find.”

“So, if it’s your treasure planet, why didn’t you just open fire on them the moment you saw their ship? Your description makes it sound like their reputation more than precedes them, and your ship’s arsenal would be more than capable of at least severely maiming them.”

Captain Dako chuckled, a rough, throaty sound. “And here I thought the Federation were the peaceful sort. It would seem we know less about you than we thought.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

The door chime sounded. The captain smiled at Shannon through his bunched lips before turning his attention toward the door. “Enter.”

Two members of the Strux delegation stood side by side as the door opened, one male, one female. Shannon stood, and they bowed their heads as they entered the room. The male spoke: “Captain, we are here to leave for the dinner gathering.”

“Where is Ghravis?” The captain’s voice held the same irritation as it had when she first entered the room.

“In his quarters, I presume,” the male delegate answered.

“Late, as usual,” the female chimed in.

“One of you, retrieve him. As much as the Commander has inconvenienced herself and her crew to hold this negotiation, there is no point in us making more trouble for them.” Captain Dako looked at Shannon. “You seem more than capable of doing that yourself.”

Shannon bit her cheek and said nothing as one of the two delegates left the room to retrieve the missing Ghravis. Once the doors had closed again, the room was bathed in uncomfortable silence. She cleared her throat. “Have the accommodations been to your liking, Ambassador...?”

“Rhess,” he inserted. “Janbor Rhess, Commander, and yes, Starfleet’s accommodations have been most ambitious.”

“Ambitious, Ambassador Rhess?”

“Your living spaces are suitably comfortable, but your replicators do not meet our expectations.”

Shannon furrowed her brow, concerned. “In what way?”

Janbor Rhess turned up his nose and waved a hand dismissively. “The food is dead.”

Before Shannon could respond, the female Strux representative returned, this time without ringing first, and inserted herself into the conversation. “Ghravis is not coming.”

The captain stood up and snarled. “What?!”

She delivered the news impartially. “He says he is sick.”

Grumbling to himself, the captain rubbed his temples again. “Fine. Let him miss dinner, then. He will have no excuse for missing any future engagements.” He headed for the door. Shannon followed him.

Ushering the diplomats out into the hall, the small group found a security officer waiting diligently by the door. He looked to Shannon. “Ensign Meeko, Commander. Lieutenant Barnes assigned me to be your co-escort for the Strux delegation.”

Grateful for the company, she smiled at the young man. “Thank you, Ensign.” Turning her attention back to the rest of the group, she gestured down the hall toward the turbolift. “If you’ll follow me, we can be on our way to the Observation Lounge for dinner.”


	10. Chapter 10

To Raj, the Observation Lounge was almost unrecognizable. A long white tablecloth had been draped over the table, and the standard conference room chairs replaced by elegant dining chairs to match the formal place settings, complete with decorative floral displays and candlelight.

“They did an impressive job, don’t you agree?”

Standing next to him, his Tellarite Chief Engineer gave a noncommittal grunt.

“That remains to be seen. The key to a successful diplomatic dinner is food worth eating, not how pretty the table is.”

“Well _I_ think it looks wonderful,” Doctor Dupont added as she entered the room. “This should certainly be an interesting evening. If what I read from the reports is anything to go on, we should be in for a... unique meal.” 

“Well, if it gets to be too much, at least we have a doctor nearby,” Raj muttered as he remembered the menu he’d selected to accommodate the Strux delegation. Then again, the Grottian food he’d chosen had been more appetizing only because it was not intended to be served while still alive. “Both sides have one thing in common if nothing else: their food seems designed specifically to test the strength of your stomach.”

“The human stomach is capable of digesting far more than you would expect, Captain. I implore you to leave your culinary prejudices at the door, as difficult as that may be.” She walked over to the table and adjusted a crooked fork. “I, for one, am quite excited to try the marinated Galextrian sandworms.”

The doors to the Observation Lounge slid open to reveal Lieutenants Barnes and Caldwell and the Grottian delegation. Raj took this as an opportunity to politely duck out of the conversation with Clara. He approached the guests and stopped before them to bowed his head respectfully.

“Greetings, delegates. I am Captain Raj Murali of the Federation starship _Babel_. It’s good to make your acquaintance.”

The leader of the delegation bowed his head in return, as was apparently the Grottian custom. “Greetings and good fortune to you, Captain. I am Timos Kimal, captain of the fine ship _Spelios_. I look forward to working with you and your fine crew. They have been most accommodating so far.”

“I’m pleased to hear that, Captain Kimal.” Raj gestured toward the officers currently gathered in the conference room to introduce them. “You’ve already met Lieutenants Barnes and Caldwell, and Commander O’Malley will be joining us shortly with the Strux delegation. I’d like to introduce you to our Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Clara Dupont, and our Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Naazt.”

Captain Kimal looked at Naazt curiously, much to the Tellarite’s amusement. “You... are not the same species as the others.”

Naazt stood up straighter, and Raj could almost visibly see his ego swell. “That is correct, Captain. I am a Tellarite, part of a proud, noble people. My predecessors helped to forge this Federation, and without our intellect and skill, Starfleet would not be what it is today.”

Raj smiled at both Naazt and the Grottian captain. “The United Federation of Planets is comprised of hundreds of races throughout the Alpha and Beta quadrants, Captain. While it is true that the majority of my crew is Human, you’ll find several of those species represented onboard this ship. On some other Starfleet vessels, my species is in the minority. The Federation gives no preferential treatment based on species, race, sex, gender, or any other factor outside one’s own actions. 

“A noble idea, Captain,” Kimal replied in a level tone. “But does it apply to enemies, as well?”

Raj nodded. “Of course. The Federation was at war with the Klingon Empire for many years, but we finally achieved a lasting alliance. Now, a Klingon serves in Starfleet as the Chief of Security for the Federation’s flagship.” _Did serve,_ Raj remembered with a barely concealed grimace, remembering the ship’s recent destruction, ironically at the hands of a rogue group of Klingons. 

“Come, I’ll show you to your seats,” he said as much to change the subject as to move forward with the proceedings. “The other delegates should be arriving shortly.”

As if in response to the captain, the doors opened to admit the Strux delegation, led by Commander O’Malley.

“Captain,” she said first to Raj. “Captain,” she nodded to the Grottian captain. “May I introduce Captain Dako of the Strux vessel _Khree_ and his representatives.”

“I regret to inform you that our fourth member, Ambassador Ghravis, will not be joining us tonight,” Captain Dako announced, sounding perturbed. “He is unwell.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Captain Dako. If there’s anything we can do, my Chief Medical Officer will provide it.”

“That will not be necessary,” Dako replied. “He has a common condition among our people. It is not contagious, and it is simple to treat. He only needs to rest for a while. I’m sure that when our negotiations begin in earnest tomorrow, he will be well.”

“I see,” Raj said, though truthfully he didn’t, and he made a mental note to speak with Commander O’Malley about the situation later. “Ladies and gentlemen, the food will arrive shortly. In the meantime, I’d like to officially welcome everyone aboard and extend my gratitude to all parties involved for allowing this discussion to take place. When two parties can agree to put down their weapons, we are already halfway to peace.”


	11. Chapter 11

Once all parties had been seated at the table and the food had been brought out by Hob’s catering and hospitality crew, the evening began to pick up speed and flow more smoothly. Beverages of choice eased the tension that everyone had felt when both delegations initially entered the room, and while the two parties primarily spoke amongst themselves, _Babel_ ’s senior staff made a point of trying to involve everyone in group discussion.

While Captain Murali entertained conversation with the Grottian captain, Jeremy took advantage of the opportunity to lean over and say something to Jessica. “I don’t know how you can eat that.”

She looked up from her bowl of rinnd larva soup and shrugged. “It’s actually pretty good if you’d give it a chance. It’s like… wiggly rice in vegetable broth. It’s no _gagh_ , but it’s tasty.”

Jeremy shuddered. “I think I’ll stick to the borga salad, thanks.”

“You have no sense of adventure, Caldwell.”

“I think I’m okay with that.” He felt a nudge against his leg from his opposite side and was barely quick enough to hide the surprise. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said to Jessica before turning his attention to the Grottian delegate sitting beside him. “Need something?”

“I regret to say I feel rather left out of conversation,” Irava said in a near-whisper.

“Oh, we were just discussing the meal.” He glanced over his shoulder at Jessica who had already turned and found herself a new conversation to participate in. “Lieutenant Barnes has a rather, ah, _bold_ palate.”

“I see.” The small woman moved her chair a fraction of an inch closer. “Would it be too much to ask for some company? I don’t particularly feel like discussing the semantics of birthrights and how they relate to eminent domain across systems. It’s all I’ve heard since we arrived on this ship.” She reached for her glass and took a delicate sip of burgundy liquid. “I was hoping you could entice me with something more exciting.”

It took Jeremy a moment to realize that his eyebrows had climbed half an inch higher during Irava’s request. He cleared his throat and took a drink of his water before answering her. “I see no reason we couldn’t talk about something more agreeable. Perhaps something more personal would suit you? You appear to have something on your mind. Ask away.”

With a charming smile, Irava cast her eyes down for a moment, full black lashes covering the pearly ocean-colored sclera beneath. “You know, Lieutenant, it surprises me they don’t have you in command. You certainly have more charisma than your captain -- or mine, for that matter. I imagine handling a negotiation like this is something you could do in your sleep.” She looked up and met his gaze. “Tell me, are most Human males so… enticing, or are you among the privileged few?”

Her persistence was certainly not unwelcome, but it was unexpected. Jeremy found it difficult to remain grounded in the present at the dinner table with where Irava seemed to be guiding the conversation. For the sake of his own dignity and the reputation of his crewmates, he decided it was best he cut things short before she made a fool of him. In public, at least.

“Ambassador,” he said leaning over to speak privately to her, “perhaps that is a question best reserved for a later time.” He sat back up and took another drink of water.

“Alright,” she responded casually, mirroring his actions as she helped herself to another sip of her beverage. “I’ll hold you to that.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Well, I’d say that went fairly well, given the circumstances, wouldn’t you Lieutenant?”

Jessica stepped out of the way of one of the catering crewmen carrying away dishes and looked up at Captain Murali. “Well sir, aside from that Grottian ambassador’s issue with the wine, I think so. Everyone was more or less amicable, and even Naazt managed to behave himself. Hell, I think he might have even impressed the Strux captain with his bravado.”

The captain smiled at her mention of the engineer’s boasts of mechanical prowess that had stemmed from one of the Strux ambassadors’ comments on _Babel’s_ technical capabilities. Jessica had worried at the time that Naazt would start to divulge sensitive information in order to one-up the Strux claims about their own vessel, but each time he had managed to make his boasting more about the adaptability and capability of himself and his team than about any ship specs, and managed to pull some information out of the alien representative that probably wasn’t intended. _If I didn’t know any better, I’d go so far as to call that a devious maneuver on Naazt’s part,_ she thought. 

“And your assessment from a security perspective?”

“I won’t know until I’ve done a full sweep of the conference room,” she replied, already configuring her tricorder to scan the area for listening devices, explosives, foreign chemical substances, or anything else that could conceivably be hidden in the room and not discovered by the cleaning team. “You’ll get my full report within the hour.”

“Very good, Lieutenant. But informally, Jessica, what are your first impressions of our delegates? They’ve been friendly enough, but are they cooperative? Willing to compromise? Trustworthy?”

“We haven’t exactly tested the limits of their willingness to cooperate or compromise, Captain, though I haven’t seen anything from them yet that would say otherwise. As for trust... I’m your Chief or Security. It’s my job not to trust anybody.”

When Captain Murali left the room, Jessica was finally alone with her equipment and her thoughts. The dinner had gone about as expected, with the tension between the two parties preventing anything more than token discussion until the alcohol began to take effect. Real alcohol, not synthehol, Jessica reminded herself, which meant that as much as she wished she could indulge herself, her role as Security Chief meant she spent much of the night jealously eyeing Jeremy’s ever draining and refilling glass. Nothing had kept her from indulging herself in food, however, and in that respect, she had fully enjoyed herself. Her time with Kronan had given her an acquired taste for Klingon cuisine that no Federation replicator could satisfy, and the food provided by the Strux could have satisfied anyone on Qo'noS.

As she savored the memory from her past, Jessica ran her tricorder over the entire room. A quick scan showed nothing obvious, but then, anything left deliberately by one of the delegations wouldn’t be obvious. There had been plenty of mingling after everyone had finished eating, so if she did find something, there wouldn’t be much to go on to track down where it came from. She walked the length of the long table, checking underneath with her eyes as well as the scanner, but found nothing out of the ordinary. The chairs, of course, had been replaced for the dinner, and would not pose a risk to tomorrow’s negotiations, but she checked them anyway and found nothing. Pacing the length of the room again, Jessica checked the door, the windows, and the computer interface on the far side of the room, but to no avail. Satisfied with her search, she started to close the tricorder when it suddenly chirped an alert for a transmission signal. Swinging the device back to where it had been when it sounded and saw the brief blip appear again on the readout.

“What the hell?”

Following the signal to the corner of the room, she reached her hand down into the soil of the large fern planter next to the port-most window. Roughly five centimeters down, she felt something hard, flat and circular, no larger than a small stone. She pulled the object out and nearly dropped it in surprise as its four metal appendages began squirming to free it from her grasp. The device, as it was clearly robotic in nature, was the source of the signal on her tricorder, and from the signals it was transmitting, was a listening device, programmed to bury itself somewhere it would not be easily found. _And if it hadn’t received an activation signal just now, I wouldn’t have found it,_ she chastised herself. 

She used the conference room’s replicator station to create a small transparent container, in which she deposited the bug, and sealed it. After she scanned for similar signatures and found none, Jessica tapped her combadge.

“Barnes to Captain Murali.”

_“Murali here, Lieutenant. I didn’t expect your report so soon.”_

“Well Captain, I just found something I think you’ll want to take a look at.”


	13. Chapter 13

“That about sums it up, Captain,” Jessica concluded after detailing the results of her post-banquet survey. 

Raj didn’t speak for some time, running instead through possible scenarios in his mind. Both the Strux and the Grottians had motive and opportunity to plant a listening device during the dinner, and the curious legged design of the device meant that it could have been released by nearly anyone at any time. He paced the length of his ready room as the Lieutenant and Commander O’Malley waited.

“I want Chief Naazt to work on deconstructing the device,” he finally replied, handing the small container back to his second officer, who nodded her acknowledgment. 

“Alright, but what are we going to do about this?” Commander O’Malley asked impatiently, leaning against the back of the chair that sat opposite his own.

Raj raised an eyebrow at her. “We do nothing, of course.”

“Nothing, sir?” Shannon shook her head. “I understand being cautious, but if a member of one of the delegations is willing to try gaining an edge this early on in the conference, there’s no saying what else they might be up to or where else on the ship might be bugged.”

“Agreed, Commander, but what is the alternative? We _could_ start throwing accusations around, and we might even catch the culprit, but what does that do for us? If we accuse one side of spying on the other, we destroy any sense of trust we’ve built so far and increase the difficulty in cultivating that trust for the remainder of the negotiations. The one thing that we absolutely cannot do is accuse either side of tampering with the arbitration process. Instead, we remain wary and try to learn what we can from what we’ve found. Our best-case scenario is one where we prevent any tampering without ever calling out the guilty party or parties.”

“Very well, sir.” Shannon tapped her fingers against the frame of the chair pensively. “In the meantime, perhaps we should consider having our escorts keep their ears open for any information the delegates might be willing to part with when they are in the safety of their quarters. I found that the Strux captain was surprisingly chatty when he wasn’t surrounded by his peers. Nothing sensitive, of course, but perhaps a bit of trust built between us and them might lead someone to let something slip.”

“At the very least, that’s a good precaution. With any luck, at least one of you might start to build a rapport with our guests.” He paused in front of his XO and met her gaze. “Do what you can to get closer with them. Learn more about them, what they’re interested in, and how they interact. We’re going to be out here in this region of space for a while, and I’m sure we’ll encounter the Strux and the Grottians again. Doing it on good terms will go a long way toward our mission.”

“And with any luck we might get some information on what happened at Starbase 214.” Shannon furrowed her brow slightly. “I don’t know about you, Captain, but that ordeal still doesn’t sit well with me, and the fact that nobody has said anything about it yet on either side is making me a bit uneasy.”

“I’ll leave how to approach that subject up to you, Commander,” Raj said, resuming his pacing of the ready room. “You’re our representative to the Strux, and at this point, you know them better than anyone else on board.”

“I appreciate that, sir, though what I’d appreciate more would be any guiding points you may have on how to go about that.” Shannon turned her attention to Lieutenant Barnes, who had been leaning quietly against the opposite wall with her arms folded across her chest. “I’d appreciate any input you might have as well, Lieutenant. You’ve got more experience in these matters than I do, by far.”

Jessica shifted uncomfortably before answering. “Yes and no, Commander. I’ve managed the security detail for delegations plenty of times, but not with anyone with the hostile record the Strux have. You and Ensign Brahms left their ship that attacked you adrift, but it wasn’t in any direct risk. As long as their allies returned to rescue them, they know everything about our first encounter. Even if they didn’t, they should at least know that the attack occurred, and since we’re here, they know how it ended.”

“Which means,” Raj interrupted, pausing between the two officers, looking to both of them in turn. “They’re up to something. We just don’t know what. Hopefully looking into the bug will turn up some clues. Commander, Lieutenant, I want each of you to investigate further on your ends, but outside of the three of us and Chief Naazt, I don’t want anyone else to know what’s going on.”

“Aye, sir,” they responded in near-unison.


	14. Chapter 14

The members of the Grottian delegation chatted quietly amongst themselves on the walk back from the dinner. Jessica had stayed behind on the bridge, leaving Jeremy to escort the group back to their quarters alone. After having so much to eat and drink, the delegates were hardly any trouble. Captain Kimal had thoroughly enjoyed the provisions of the evening’s affair, by the looks of it, as he wavered to and fro between his men. _Apparently, they do things differently in their part of the galaxy. If a Starfleet captain ever let themselves get to that point on an official outing, I imagine someone in the admiralty would pay them an early-morning call._

Just as the captain looked like he was about to keel over, the entourage reached the Grottian guest chambers. The two delegates supporting him escorted their captain into his quarters, leaving Irava and Jeremy alone in the hallway.

“Won’t you join me for a drink?” She asked. Both of them had enjoyed plenty of libations at the dinner, though hardly enough to make him unreasonably at ease. He shook his head.

“Unless your coworkers decide to spend the night with their captain, I need to make sure they make it to their own quarters in one piece.”

Irava pouted and took a step forward, placing a delicate hand on Jeremy’s arm. “Surely they’ll be alright without your help. They’re only staying next door.”

He picked up her hand and held it briefly in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go. “I have a job to do, and as much as I’d love to join you for an evening drink of what I’m _sure_ would be nothing more than coffee, duty has to come first.”

“I was under the impression your duties extended to catering to the needs of those in your care.”

“They do, yes.” He could feel a heat building from somewhere deep inside him as she took her other hand and pressed it against his chest, leaning in close and lowering her voice to an intimate purr. “Then perhaps you recall our agreement from earlier. I believe you’re under obligation to fulfill a certain promise.”

He cleared his throat, attempting to maintain his composure while standing in the middle of the hallway. “I don’t recall making a promise…”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of doors sliding open and the two other delegates stepped out of their captain’s quarters and back into the hallway. Irava took a step back as soon as she heard the sound, leaving Jeremy standing there with a distinct red hue to his complexion. Fortunately, the two emissaries seemed far too preoccupied with getting themselves to bed to notice, as they made straight for their own quarters, disappearing without a word. As silence reclaimed the hallway, Irava resumed her previous position.

“It would seem there is only one ambassador who has not resigned to her quarters, Lieutenant.” A wicked little smile crept across her face as she folded her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels playfully. “What would you be obligated to do if she refused?”

The fire building inside him redoubled as he felt the corners of his mouth pulling into a smile of their own. “I suppose I would have to escort you inside personally.”

“And if I put up a fight?” Irava balled her hands into fists and threw a few mock punches at his torso.

He caught both of her fists in his palms and spun her around, pinning her arms to her back and holding her in a firm but gentle grip. “I doubt you’d be too much to handle,” he said in a low, rumbling tone. Pushing her forward gently, he led them both into her quarters.

“We’ll see about that,” she chuckled, her voice like honey as the doors slid shut behind them.


	15. Chapter 15

Jeremy drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Has anyone ever told you that you are dangerously persuasive?” He asked, rolling over onto his side.

“I’m a representative of my people,” Irava said with a laugh as she pulled the covers up and turned to face him. “It’s my job to be persuasive.”

“Do you always woo your hosts?”

“Only in special cases,” she said with a wink.

He reached out a hand and ran his fingers tenderly through her dark hair, splaying it out on the pillow like a series of midnight-colored rivers. The silence between them was calm, almost indulgent. When he finally broke it, his voice was quiet and laced with awe. “You came all the way across the sector to fight for an abandoned planet in your home system,” he marveled. “That’s a long way to go for what could easily have been a losing battle. There was no way you could have called for help in this nebula if you’d needed it.”

“We’re a loyal people, Lieutenant. We were driven off of our homeworld long ago and scattered across the galaxy.” She lay back and stared up at the ceiling in the dim light, her opal-like eyes shining faintly as she stared off into her memories. “We’re just trying to get back home.”

“It must get lonely, wandering in distant groups in search of a place to lay down roots.”

“Sometimes, but, like you, we have our crew as family. Our ships are all colony ships, each carrying a few diplomats. All we hope for is a place we can call our own. That’s all any of us want these days.”

“But that planet down there is uninhabitable.”

“Yes, but it once belonged to us. To our predecessors anyway.” She turned her head to look at him. “The Strux have claimed this area of space. We’ve been trying for years to claim it back. So many ships and crews have been lost in deliberations on this front, but it means too much to my people to just abandon the cause.”

“What about your colonists who have already settled?” He asked, furrowing his brow and trying to follow along as the alcohol and the urge to sleep tugged at his eyelids. “If you did reclaim your home system, what would they do?”

“Come home.” She sounded forlorn as if she was holding back tears. “After so many generations of dispute and failure, gaining back our birthright would be reason for celebration on every planet and ship we have scattered across the stars. We could finally stop wandering, and we could belong somewhere again.”

Jeremy said nothing for a long while. The thought of what they’d been through as a people weighed heavily on him. He’d never once considered what it might be like if Earth were claimed by another faction and his home and everything he loved was stripped from him. Generations of migrants destined to roam the galaxy until someone or something turned the tides in their favor. It sounded like a horrible burden to bear.

He let out a long sigh and sat up slowly. “It’s getting late. If I stay much longer, someone’s bound to start wondering where I’ve gone.”

Irava turned and sat up as well, propping her body up on her elbows. “I understand.” She cast her gaze downward for a moment and traced a finger in small circles on the sheets. “If you’re ever looking for company again, you know where to find me, right Lieutenant?”

Jeremy reached out a hand and placed it on top of hers. “Of course.” He got up and collected his things. “Goodnight, Irava.”

“Goodnight,” she whispered with a smile.


	16. Chapter 16

The door to the Grottian delegate’s quarters was open just long enough for a tall man to slip out into the hallway. He turned and made his way quickly down the length of the hall toward the turbolift, but not quite quickly enough to avoid Jessica as she caught up to him.

“Going for an evening stroll, Caldwell?” she asked playfully.

Jeremy jolted at the sound of her voice and swore under his breath as he turned around to face her. “What the hell are you still doing up?” His hair was a mess and the half of his collar bearing his rank pips was flipped inside his shirt.

Jessica eyed his disheveled uniform and smiled. “You do realize that I’m this ship’s Chief of Security? The Strux and Grottian delegations are on the same deck, albeit at opposite ends of the ship. Did you really think the hallways would be completely empty?”

“I thought you might, you know, _sleep_ at some point during the week.” He furrowed his brow. “You’re _Chief_ of Security. Assign someone else to the job and go to bed. You’re going to be useless at breaking up a fistfight if you can barely keep your eyes open.”

“Oh no you don’t, Jeremy. You don’t get to just walk out of this one.”

“What’re you going to do,” he asked with a smug grin, “try to stop me?”

“Was that your line, or hers?”

His mouth dropped open for a brief moment before he remembered to set his jaw and scowl. “That’s not funny.”

She had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from laughing openly. “I think it’s hilarious. Come on, why so embarrassed? You didn’t disappoint her, did you?” 

He folded his arms indignantly across his chest. “We actually rather enjoyed ourselves, thank you. At least I didn’t have to spend my evening alone, pacing up and down empty hallways.”

She shot him a glare. “Okay, _that’s_ not funny. Again, I’m Chief of Security. When you review the evening reports as often as I have, you become painfully aware of how many people on board are getting some, and it sure as hell isn’t me.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Are you looking for recommendations or just venting, Jess?”

“That depends. How was it?”

“She was…” He paused a moment. “Acrobatic.”

“Wow. You know, Caldwell, you really missed your calling. You should’ve gone into xenobiology.”

“Something tells me that’s not exactly how the study of that field works.”

“They say your work is what you make of it. Then again, what does that say about me?”

“Considering you haven’t slept for nearly twenty-four hours, probably that you take your job a bit more seriously than I do.” He shifted his weight uncomfortably and avoided eye contact with her briefly. “Look, Jessica, I realize this goes _way_ beyond, uh, inappropriate. I’d appreciate it if we kept this between us.”

“You mean you _don’t_ want me to report to the captain, or to Commander O’Malley, that you were shirking your duty, among other things, with a member of a visiting delegation during incredibly delicate peace talks?”

He inhaled sharply as she spelled out his trespasses. “Yeah,” he said meekly. “If we could avoid that, I think it would be for the best.”

Jessica could tell from the look on his face that she’d taken at least one step too far. “Hey,” she said carefully, “don’t worry. I won’t say a thing as long as it doesn’t do anything to jeopardize the mission. I... I’m really not one to judge when it comes to inappropriate workplace relationships. Just promise me it won’t cause any trouble, okay?”

“You have my word.” he hesitated for a moment, “I’ll be sure to keep it professional from here on out. I appreciate your discretion.”

Jessica gave him a reassuring smile before turning down the hall. “Good night, Lieutenant.”


	17. Chapter 17

At nine hundred hours, Shannon arrived at the quarters of the Strux captain. Following the previous night’s dinner and their brief interaction beforehand, she’d asked Captain Dako for a moment of his time before the first of the official proceedings began. Initially, he’d been hesitant, but ultimately he obliged, presumably in the interest of remaining in the good graces of his host. Shannon rang the door chime, and for a moment, she wished she’d invited Ensign Meeko to join her. _No, it’s better that I’m alone. I’m more likely to get a straight answer if it’s just the two of us, and Captain Murali knows where I am._

Captain Zhistran Dako opened the door. He looked irritated and his eyes seemed sunken as if he hadn’t slept at all. He stood in the doorway and said nothing.

“Good morning, sir. Did I wake you?”

“No, you didn’t,” he snapped. “I made an appointment with you. I don’t make a habit of being caught unprepared.”

“Unprepared?” His choice of words caught Shannon by surprise.

“Asleep, Commander. Come inside. Those lights are too bright.”

She stepped inside and the door closed behind her. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the low lighting of his quarters. He had them only just bright enough to navigate and seemed to have no inclination of changing the settings.

“Captain Dako, I can come back another time if-”

“No!” he hissed again, wincing at the sound of her voice and his own. When he continued, he spoke in barely more than a whisper. “No. You’re here now. There would be no sense in having you leave and come back later. You said you wished to discuss something, and we shall discuss it.”

She stood across the room from him in the near-darkness and analyzed his unfamiliar features to the best of her abilities. “Sir,” she probed cautiously, “how is your head feeling this morning?”

He grimaced, hesitating a moment before answering. “Poorly.”

“Are you feeling sensitive to light and sound, by chance?”

His scowl deepened. “Yes.”

It was Shannon’s turn to hesitate. “Might I offer a suggestion?”

“If you must.”

She walked over to the replicator and asked for a cup of strong black coffee, followed by a glass of cool water. Retrieving both, she walked them over to the table beside Captain Dako and set them down. “This is an old Earth remedy. They say hot coffee helps. Nowadays, we usually just drink plenty of water when we feel like that, but I’ll let you decide.” She watched him reach for the coffee first. “If it’s too bitter, I can-”

Before she could finish her sentence, the Strux captain had spit the coffee back into the cup and cast it across the table.

“That is _poison_!” He turned to her, baring his teeth. “You are trying to kill me!”

Shannon froze, uncertain whether or not he was about to lunge at her. When he made no further motion, she reached slowly across the table for the cup and backed up to the replicator. “I promise you, sir, I would never do that to you.” She recycled his cup and replicated a fresh copy for herself. Raising it up, she showed it to him. “Coffee is what some would call an ‘acquired taste.’” She took a sip of hers. “If it was poison, I wouldn’t be drinking it myself. Most people don’t care for it their first time around.” She took another sip from the mug and returned to the table, gesturing toward the glass of water. “I suggest you opt for the newer remedy. You’re dehydrated from last night’s libations from the sound of things.”

The Strux captain narrowed his eyes at her before grabbing the water and drinking from the cup with a series of unhappy grumbles. Once it was empty a few moments later, he set it back on the table. “I do not appreciate the deception, Commander.”

“It was not my intent, Sir. I’ll be more clear about things in the future.”

“Good. Your species has a fondness for flowery language. I find it irritating.”

She nodded and set down her cup. “Noted, sir. Shall we sit?”

“Fine, fine,” he muttered, pulling out a chair at the table and taking a seat across from Shannon. “We’ve wasted enough time with pleasantries as it is.”

Containing a strained sigh, Shannon sat down across from the captain and folded her hands on the table. “Captain Dako, do you have any knowledge of the events at Starbase 214?”

“I’ve never even heard of it.” His face was difficult to see in the low light, but from what Shannon could tell, the name didn’t trigger any visual response.

“It’s an outpost near the border of Federation space.”

Captain Dako paused as if waiting for something more. “...And? You mention this place I’ve never heard of as if you expect me to care about it.”

“Well, I imagined you might have considering it was our Federation’s first encounter with your people.”

He regarded her flatly.

“Captain Dako, Starbase 214 was nearly lost after a Strux ship provided tainted goods to a trade vessel bound for the outpost. Everyone on board the starbase, as well as a majority of the people on this ship, was poisoned with an airborne neurotoxin. We nearly lost hundreds of lives. Surely, an event like that ought to have made it onto your radar, _sir_.”

Zhistran Dako abruptly got to his feet and snarled at Shannon. “Are you accusing me of attempted murder, Commander?”

She remained in her seat, her fingers twitching, concealed inside her opposite palm, waiting to press her communicator badge if the captain decided to try anything. “I do not sling accusations without reasonable evidence to back them, Captain.” She gestured to his chair. “Please, sit down so we can discuss this civilly.”

“I owe no pleasantries to the likes of you.”

“I’m not asking for pleasantries. I’m asking for answers. Curse at me all you like if that’s what it takes.”

Dako glared at her in the dark before growling and sitting back down with a huff. “Fine! Continue, but understand that I know nothing about your starbase or whatever might have happened there, so implying that I do will only make this process longer.”

 _What if he is telling the truth?_ If that was the case, grilling him about it would do no good. If he did know what happened and was simply lying about the matter, perhaps he would have something to say about things if he heard her side of the story. Shannon sighed quietly to herself. “Would you like me to fill you in on what happened?”

“Do garnaks sleep in caves?”

Shannon blinked and raised an eyebrow, uncertain of how to answer. “I don’t know, do the-”

“ _Yes!_ Yes.” Captain Dako brought his palms to his eyes and rubbed them with a fatigued sigh. “Commander, you try my patience.”

“My apologies, sir.”

Dako groaned. “Just get on with your story.”

Without further hesitation, Shannon spent the next several minutes detailing the highlights of _Babel_ ’s interactions at Starbase 214 and the encounter with the Strux vessel and their trade partner. Captain Dako sat silently across from her, watching her intently and occasionally pausing to massage his temples. When she’d finished, it took him a moment before he responded.

“Do you remember the name of the vessel you and your helmsman encountered?” He asked, sounding significantly less defensive than before.

“No, they never identified themselves. All we could tell was that it was a small vessel, larger than one of our shuttlecraft but significantly smaller than _Babel_ or _Khree._ ”

“Did you happen to make a note of its numerical designation at least?”

“No, sir. We-”

“Did you pay attention to _anything_ during that encounter?”

Shannon furrowed her brows. “Sir, we were being fired upon and trying our hardest not to end up as space debris. Maybe you can take detailed notes of a tense situation as it’s happening, but unfortunately, not all of us are quite so skilled.”

Captain Dako studied her from across the table for a moment before smiling to himself. He made no remark as to what it was about, and the grin vanished as quickly as it had come. “With so little information about the vessel you encountered, there’s no way for me to trace who it was or where they might be right now.” He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and folded his hands in his lap under the surface of the glass table. “What I can say, as much as I would prefer not to, is that it sounds like you may have encountered the Antithenai.”

“What is the _Antithenai_ ,” asked Shannon, presuming it to be the name of the ship they encountered.

“The Antithenai are…” He sneered and spat: “They’re a group of criminals that are a disgrace to the Hegemony is what they are.”

 _Touchy subject, I see,_ Shannon thought. “So, they’re a rogue faction. Is that right?”

“Yes, if you prefer to use such delicate terms to define them. What they are is a group of disobedient children who have decided to disregard direct orders on multiple occasions.”

“Do you know what their motives are?”

“If we did, they would have been hauled into custody a long time ago.”

Shannon steepled her fingers and brought them to her lips as she leaned back, thinking. “Well, it sounds like you and I have a common enemy, Captain. I’ll tell you what. I can offer you sensor logs from our encounter with the Antithenai if, in return, you would be willing to meet with my captain and me to share what you know of this rogue group. All of it would be strictly confidential, of course.” She sat forward and placed her hands back on the table. “Does that sound agreeable to you?”

“Strictly confidential meaning you will not share any information about this group and their relation to us with anyone?”

“That is what confidential means, yes. I can tell it’s a matter of pride, and it would be in our best interests to do what we can to foster good relations between our people. _Babel_ is the only Federation ship anywhere near Strux space. We would have no reason to share news of the Hegemony’s political ties -- or lack thereof -- to the Antithenai unless they continued to venture into Federation space.”

“Yes, yes,” Dako said, waving his hand dismissively. “But I would be free to share your sensor data with my superiors in order to track down the insubordinates?”

“Of course. As I said before, they’re a shared problem.”

“Hmm,” he murmured. “Alright. Arrange the meeting and I’ll be there.”

Shannon smiled and got to her feet. “Excellent. Now that we have that sorted, I believe it is about time that we make our way to the bridge. The deliberations will be starting soon.”


	18. Chapter 18

With the conference room prepared and the first round of true negotiations just minutes away, Raj stared out the observation window at the nebula beyond. It was certainly a majestic sight, and apparently, it was one worth fighting a war over. He had most of his preliminary notes memorized already and was bracing himself for a tense day of back-and-forth debate. 

The Grottians’ claim to the region dated back several hundred years to the collapse of their homeworld. Just a few lightyears away, the Delta Ionis system was host to a number of barren worlds, one of which had once been a Class-M world capable of sustaining most forms of humanoid life until a series of geological changes swept through the planet, destabilizing the unique network of underground caverns that were host to the majority of the Grottian population. With their home collapsing, they took to the stars, wandering this region of space in search of a new home. While they never found a replacement for their homeworld, they did establish a loose coalition of colony worlds that served primarily to support their roving home fleet, effectively a small world in itself, where their government-in-exile continued the search for a home. With advances in terraforming technology now available to them, the Grottians turned their search back to the Delta Ionis sector in an effort to reclaim the world that once gave them life.

The Strux, of course, had now controlled the region for nearly a century, and the coincidence of the Grottian home sector holding a natural abundance of resources was not lost on them. Faced with an invasion that could destabilize their economy, not to mention cost them the faith of their citizens, the Strux Hegemony condemned the Grottian attacks at their border and vowed to defend their worlds at any cost. While their demeanor was hostile, Raj couldn’t fault them for seeing the Grottian resettlement efforts as an attack on their empire. With both sides fully committed to claiming what they believed was theirs, he also didn’t see an immediate path forward in the negotiations. Still, if he could find anything at all that either side would budge on, it would go a long way toward some form of peaceful resolution.

Voices outside the door to the conference room preceded the sound of the chime. Raj called them in and the doors parted to reveal Lieutenant Commander O’Malley and the Strux delegation.

“Good morning, Commander, delegates. Please, take your seats. The other representatives should arrive momentarily.”

The delegation members filed in and took their seats along one side of the long table. Their captain made brief eye contact with Shannon and nodded before sitting down in his chair. As she made her way to her seat beside Raj, the meaningful look transitioned to him. She paused beside him and lowered her voice.

“Sir, Captain Dako and I would like a word with you this evening, following the day’s legal proceedings. In private, if we may.”

Raj raised an eyebrow at his first officer but kept from asking any questions in public that might cause further difficulties. Instead, he settled for a nod of acknowledgment.

“Very well, I’ll schedule a time for us to meet later tonight,” he said softly. Turning to address the delegation, he spoke up again. “Captain Dako, has everything been to your satisfaction so far?”

“As much as can be expected given the circumstances,” he answered gruffly before adding in a more pleasant tone, as an afterthought: “Yes. Thank you.”

A moment later, the chime sounded again and all heads turned toward the door. At Raj’s summons, Lieutenant Caldwell ushered in the Grottian delegation. Their captain looked more serious than he had the previous night, though whether that was due to the stakes at hand or the incredible amount he’d had to drink the previous night, Raj was uncertain.

“Good morning delegates. I trust everything was to your satisfaction?”

Their captain bowed his head respectfully and the others in his group followed suit. The female delegate wore a noticeable grin when she looked back up, though the others remained stoic.

“Quite, Captain Murali,” the Grottian captain said. “You and your crew have been most hospitable.”

“I’m pleased to hear that, Captain Kimal. Now, if you’ll take your seats, we can begin.”

Raj took his seat at the head of the conference room table, with Shannon at his right side and Lieutenant Caldwell to his left. The Grottians and Strux took their seats on either side of the table, and suddenly all eyes were back on him. _Well then, here we go,_ he thought to himself as he cleared his throat to start the proceedings.

“Now that everyone is settled, we will begin the accords. I am Captain Raj Murali, commanding officer of the Federation starship _Babel_ , and will act as an independent arbitrator during these proceedings. With me, I have Lieutenant Commander Shannon O’Malley, my Executive Officer, and Lieutenant Jeremy Caldwell, a member of my senior staff. Mister Caldwell, will Lieutenant Barnes be joining us this morning?”

Jeremy cleared his throat nervously. “No sir, she said she had something she needed to take care of. She put me in charge of the Grottian escort for now.”

Raj nodded. _Good, now is a prime opportunity for further investigation._ “Understood. Now, will each delegation please introduce themselves? Since they arrived first, we can begin with the Strux.”

Captain Dako rose. “I am Captain Zhistran Dako of the Strux Hegemony, commander of the starship _Khree_.” He gestured to the delegates seated to his right. “These are my chosen representatives: Janbor Rhess, Cantra Pree, and Ankor Ghravis.”

“I see you’re feeling better today, Ambassador Ghravis,” Raj noted.

“Yes, sir, thankfully.” His voice was a stark contrast to his captain’s, coming out as a strained, nasal whine.

“We’re happy to have you aboard.” Raj turned to face the Grottian delegation on his left and invited them to introduce themselves as well.

Their captain rose as the Strux captain resumed his seat. “I am Captain Timos Kimal of the Grottian Republic vessel _Speleos_. To my left are my esteemed representatives: Eless Karn, Rheus Lanthro, and Irava Morgus.”

“A pleasure to have you here as well,” Raj replied, gesturing for each of the delegates to sit down. “With introductions out of the way, we can now begin with the proceedings. As a reminder, my role is strictly to guide negotiations between your peoples, and neither my ship nor any Federation vessel will seek to or be authorized to enforce the results of these talks. It is my hope, however, that the agreement we reach here in the coming days will be one that benefits all parties involved, and will lead to a new and lasting partnership between the Strux Hegemony and Grottian Republic.”


	19. Chapter 19

Despite the initial pleasantries, there was nothing agreeable or peaceful during the first half-hour of discussion. Grottian appeals to history and wanderlust were met with ridicule and doubt from the Strux side, and Strux claims based on occupation and successful management of the region were tossed aside with contempt by the Grottians, who accused the Hegemony of barbaric and despotic oppression. Insults and threats were exchanged with the same frequency as actual discussion, and several attempts by Commander O’Malley or Lieutenant Caldwell to calm the delegates were no more effective than shouting at the wind. For a while, the only thing the two sides had in common was a list of casualties from skirmishes with the other side. It wasn’t until over an hour into the debate that the first hint of progress was made.

“Captain Murali, there is no reason to listen to these scavengers!” yelled Ambassador Pree of the Strux delegation. “Even if you believe their dubious claims of heritage, they have been content to live far from here for centuries until they discovered that the world we orbit is rich in dilithium. They want nothing more than to strip our worlds of their resources and move on to their next victim.”

“I object to these insulting claims,” began Irava, the Grottian woman across the table, but Raj quickly cut off the two of them, lest another argument begin.

“Everyone, please calm down. I understand that this is difficult for everyone, but I think you’re stepping around a matter of real substance here. Ambassador,” he said, gesturing to the Strux woman, “you are correct that there are substantial dilithium deposits on the world below, but our scans show that they are incredibly deep under the surface, and the rock above the deposits is incredibly unstable. Even Federation technology would struggle to safely recover the dilithium, and the process would be long and fraught with difficulties. Do the Strux have the means to mine the planet and make use of its resources, or are you simply working to prevent a rival from getting access to something of yours?”

The entire Strux delegation glared at Raj for his inquiry, but there was a meaningful delay before Captain Dako shook his head. 

“We do not presently have the ability to mine the deep deposits, no, but several mining institutions in the Hegemony are developing new technology, and we anticipate being able to utilize these resources in the next few decades.”

Raj turned to Captain Kimal. “Captain, your people excel at working with deep excavation, correct?”

The Grottian captain’s face lit up. “Yes, Captain, we do. In fact, once the world is officially ours, we plan to use it as a testbed for our terraforming techniques before we reclaim our homeworld.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Raj said, trying to placate the Strux before another objection derailed the talks again. “I’m still not convinced the Grottians have a claim strong enough to warrant pushing others out of the space they currently occupy. We do have an opportunity, though, for you to work together.”

“Explain yourself, Captain,” spat one of the Strux. Ambassador Rhess, if he remembered correctly.

“Any peace agreement we want to last needs to have incentives for both sides to adhere to it,” Raj explained. “Perhaps there is an opportunity, Captain Dako, for you to allow the Grottians to use their technology to allow you to harvest the dilithium. You could certainly keep most of the resources here, paying the Grottians in dilithium mined from the planet in exchange for their services.”

“And just like that, we surrender our claim on worlds that are rightfully ours?” asked one of the Grottians.

“You’re never going to get everything you want in a deal, Ambassador,” Raj snapped back. “This would give you a portion of the resources you’re really after in this system, and something far more valuable: Proof that your technology could reclaim your homeworld.”

“So you want us to give away another entire system?” The Strux captain asked incredulously.

“And what is the Delta Ionis system worth to you?” Raj asked in return. “A terraforming project, even on a previously habitable world, is a long term investment with no immediate payoff. If the Grottians were to begin a project of that scale, you would at the very least be certain that it was not meant for material gain. There are other worlds that are more suitable for habitation that they could settle on, worlds that would give them more abundant resources, but those worlds are not their home. I’m not suggesting that you part with the Delta Ionis system freely, but surely it isn’t worth so much to your people that a suitable trade couldn’t be negotiated? The Grottians would need your assistance during the early stages, and they have much to offer you in return.”

“We would never accept their aid in reclaiming what is ours,” started Ambassador Morgus, but her own captain cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“Captain Murali, you have given us much to consider,” Kimal began. “Captain Dako, our people may have been enemies in the past, and there is surely much to be negotiated, but would you be willing to consider a proposal along the lines of the Federation captain’s suggestion?”

Dako grimaced at his counterpart across the table. “A star system, even one as insignificant as the one you claim as yours, is of considerable worth. Your offer would need to reflect that, and we would of course need to maintain a presence in the sector, for our own security as well as yours.”

The mood in the room was tense, but for the first time since they had first gathered together, the delegates were working to think of solutions instead of problems. With a thin smile toward Commander O’Malley, Raj stood from his chair to address the room.

“I’m glad to see we’ve started to make some progress. Let’s recess for an hour or two so that each of you can put together some proposals and pull any information that might be useful as we continue this discussion. I’ll confer with my officers, and we’ll reconvene here shortly.”

“A fine suggestion, Captain,” Dako said with a devious smile. “Until we next meet.”

The delegates shuffled out of the conference room and were escorted off of the bridge by a quartet of security officers, leaving Raj alone with Shannon and Jeremy.

“Well, I’d say that went well, wouldn’t you?”


	20. Chapter 20

“I would say that went quite well,” hummed Captain Kimal as the delegation processed down the main corridor of Deck Eight.

“Indeed,” echoed the warbling voice of the delegation’s grand matron, Eless Karn. “It would seem that the Strux are not so unwilling as we had believed them to be.”

“Lieutenant,” Captain Kimal said, turning to face Jeremy as he came to a stop in front of the doors to his guest suite. “Would you care to join us for a debrief of the meeting? I would be glad to offer you refreshments as a gesture of gratitude for your hospitality. You seemed to have enjoyed them last night.”

Recalling the dinner and subsequent events of the previous night, Jeremy cleared his throat before nodding politely and avoiding the temptation to let his gaze wander over to Irava. “I would be honored, sir.”

“Excellent!” Kimal announced with a punctuating clap as he opened the door to his quarters and ushered the delegation inside. “Rheus, kindly retrieve another bottle of trillium wine from the case by the, ah, _replicator_ for us.” As the male delegate among the party wandered off to do as he was told, the captain followed Jeremy into the room and laughed. “Your Federation’s technology is most impressive. We have similar food synthesizers onboard our vessels, though they’re quite rudimentary compared to what you have managed.”

“The replicators are what make a lot of what we do possible,” he replied, “from accommodating the palates of many different species to enduring long voyages away from supply stations. It really is invaluable technology.”

“Perhaps, if all should go well, may we learn some valuable information about your food synthesis technologies,” Irava suggested, inserting herself into the conversation. “Surely, those benefits your people enjoy on long voyages would also serve our people well.”

“Indeed,” the captain said, nodding. “We are rather far from the nearest supply route out here. Perhaps we could work something out if the negotiations prove fruitful on all accounts. For now,” he transitioned, gesturing to the sitting area where the others had already gathered and Rheus had already poured the wine. “Let us sit and discuss the first part of these negotiations and our plan going forward.”

The following hour was filled with discussion and debate among the delegates and their captain regarding the deal with the Strux. Most of the delegates seemed to be in agreement that the other party’s suggestion of establishing a security perimeter while their people worked to extract the dilithium from the subterranean mines was agreeable. Irava, however, expressed her opposition adamantly.

“A ‘security perimeter’ sounds like a polite way of saying ‘we’ll keep an eye on them until you’re not looking.’ With such a setup in place, it would only be a matter of time before they took their chance to strike and rid their system of our presence.”

“Thus far in the deliberations,” Eless countered, “the Strux have been quite agreeable despite their history with our people. The generations-long conflict may finally have a chance of coming to an end if all goes well here.”

“Surely, you cannot think that a war-hungry people such as the Strux would roll over so easily?” Irava asked with a frown.

“I have been present for more than one attempted peace talk with the Strux, and all were far more heated than this one,” the woman stated plainly. “Whatever has been driving their people’s bloodlust seems not to have so deeply touched this particular group.”

“Do you not think them incapable of misdirection?” Irava spat. “Their pleasantries are only superficial. As soon as the Federation’s backs are turned, I guarantee they will strike. If we are not careful to watch our own, it may happen even sooner.”

Captain Kimal cleared his throat and directed the conversation to Rheus. “What is your opinion of the Strux?”

The middle-aged Grottian shifted uncomfortably. “I am uncertain. I trust Eless’ judgment, for she has had more years of experience in delegatory matters than I have been alive, but I do believe there is some credit due to Irava. This war has cost the lives of countless Grottians and spanned decades and light-years. To call for even a partial end to the fighting would be nothing short of a miracle, but I do find it difficult to accept.”

Kimal turned next to Jeremy. “Lieutenant, what do you believe?”

Jeremy straightened his back, surprised to have been asked for his opinion on the matter. “With all due respect, sir, I don’t think it’s my place to give an opinion on the other delegation. Our role here is as mediators, and as a member of that neutral party, I don’t feel it appropriate to express any thoughts I have on the matter.”

The captain studied Jeremy’s expression for a moment before smiling thinly. “Very well. I respect your position, though if you find you have a change of heart, an outside opinion would be greatly appreciated.”

Conversation resumed among the members of the delegation and Jeremy sat back in his chair and took another sip of wine. As he observed the discussion, his mind wandered. _What are my opinions on the Strux?_ He hadn’t had much time to interact with them, and the only other time we’d encountered them was during the chaos at Starbase 214. _Based on what little I know -- or think I know -- about them, I don’t think Irava’s reluctance is unfounded. Years and years of blood feuds often end up carrying ill-will long after whatever sentiments caused the struggle have been forgotten. While the Strux certainly aren’t the most friendly individuals I’ve ever dealt with, someone outside the crew might say the same thing about Naazt._ He sighed quietly to himself. He didn’t feel he had enough information on them to form a real opinion, but of the delegates, he found himself agreeing most with Rheus: Hesitant, yet willing to accept that there may be a chance.

“I believe that will conclude our debrief for this evening,” Captain Kimal’s voice broke through Jeremy’s internal debate. “Thank you for joining us, Lieutenant. If there is no other business you or anyone else here would like to address this evening, I think I would like to retire for a moment’s rest now.”

The group stood in unison and exchanged a round of polite bows before proceeding toward the door. As the delegates and Jeremy filed out into the hall, Irava passed him an inviting glance, but he shook his head. With a tiny pout, she shrugged and turned away, letting her gaze trail a moment behind the rest of her. Once the two were out of one another’s sight, he let his shoulders relax. _Acrobatic…_ he scoffed to himself as he stepped into the turbolift. “Deck Seven.”


	21. Chapter 21

"Well Chief, what do you have for me?" Jessica asked as she tapped her foot irritably on the metal grating below her. She'd finally found Naazt, the ship’s Tellarite Chief Engineer, working on calibrations deep inside the port warp nacelle, and since he’d been found, he reluctantly consented to giving a report on the strange listening device. 

"Lieutenant," he muttered with a tone that suggested he'd slept no better than she had the night before, "I don't know much more than I did the last time you asked me, two hours ago. It's a surveillance device, that's for certain, but it's also a damn good one. The thing cleanses itself of organic residue including DNA traces, so I can't tell you who touched it or deployed it. Furthermore, it's been scrambling the output signals and erasing any inputs, so unless I can break its outgoing encryption, I can't even tell you _what_ it's sending, let alone where."

Jessica shook her head. "I find it hard to believe that the Strux _or_ the Grottians have the technical expertise to mask the destination of the data completely."

"Believe what you will," the Tellarite snorted. "The signal is bouncing all over the ship. Do you have another explanation?"

Grimacing, she crossed her arms and leaned back against the railing. _It shouldn't be so difficult to pin down the source of one little bug_ , she thought. The image of the listening device, crawling across her hand after she pulled it from a decorative planter in the conference room, had been stuck in her mind all day, not to mention throughout her sleepless night, which was filled with dreams of hundreds of the things swarming around her as Lieutenant Caldwell and the Grottian ambassador loomed over her, laughing. _Wait a second..._

"Could they be networked?" she asked, an idea forming in her head. 

"They? I thought you said there was only one?"

"Only one that we could find," she reminded him. "We can't find them on sensors, but we couldn't find this one, could we? What if your scrambled output signal is just a varied burst of partial information, sent through a network of similar devices throughout the ship?"

Naazt set down his toolkit and turned to give her his full attention for the first time. "Alright, you have me interested. There would need to be a few dozen at a minimum in order to disperse the signal enough for us to lose it. The ‘bugs’, for lack of a better term, can clearly move on their own and are autonomous enough to recognize potential threats. Assuming whoever is responsible for them has had even a few minutes unsupervised, they would have had enough opportunity to get the devices in place."

“Even a passing moment in a turbolift would have been enough, and they’ve had at least that much several times by now,” she chimed in. “I like to think I’m pretty alert, but any of the delegates could have let one of those things crawl out of a pant leg or a shoe without anyone noticing. And if it’s more than one delegate, working together, then there would have been plenty of time.”

Jessica paced back and forth along the long metal catwalk that ran alongside the nacelle interior, thinking through everything that had occurred since the delegations had come aboard _Babel_. The Strux had obvious motive to cause trouble, of course, but she had to admit that no one knew enough about the Grottians to make a solid assessment of them, so she couldn't eliminate them as suspects either. Instead of motive, then, she decided to focus on opportunity. Going with the assumption that a large network of devices was necessary, it would make sense that the culprit would have found an excuse to be unattended for a longer period of time. 

"Chief," she interjected after a period of silence, “if there _are_ more bugs around, is it safe to speak about this here?”

“Unless they can phase through the forcefield you passed on the way here, we should be fine,” Naazt chided. 

"Right. Still, I feel a lot better hearing that from you rather than guessing. Wasn't one of the delegates absent during dinner last night?"

"Yes, I believe one of the Strux ambassadors was ill," he replied. 

“Ambassador Ghravis, if I remember his name. He certainly would have had the easiest time getting several of these out into the open.”

“But the bug you discovered was in the conference room,” the engineer shot back. “Ghravis wasn’t there until today, during the negotiations. How do you explain that?”

She smiled back at him and crossed her arms. “Easy. Plant one on one of the other delegates, and let it crawl away during dinner. No one would have noticed that. And that’s only necessary if Ghravis was alone. If this is just an effort to get ahead in the negotiations, there’s no reason not to involve the entire delegation.”

“You think the Strux are the culprits, then?”

“It’s my job to suspect _everyone_ , Chief, but so far the Strux have the most to lose, the motive for hostility, and opportunity to act. They’re the logical place to start looking.”

Naazt laughed as he picked up his toolkit. “Turning into a Vulcan, are we Lieutenant?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, Chief, but going with my gut instead of my brain has gotten me into trouble before.” _Not to mention that the last time I followed my gut, all my suspicion found was Jeremy in bed with one of our guests,_ she reminded herself.

“Perhaps that’s why I stay in Engineering and you run Security, then,” he snorted as they began to make their way back to the nacelle control room, from which they could climb back to the main hull. “Going to pay our sick friend a visit, then?”

“I’d rather snoop around his quarters when he’s gone, but that will have to wait until the morning. For now, I’ll have my team keep an eye out for more of the devices, and double the guard on Deck Eight. And once I’ve given that order, I’m getting a drink.”


	22. Chapter 22

Shannon and Captain Dako walked in silence down the hall toward the turbolift. She’d learned very quickly that he was the quiet, contemplative sort when given the option. Nonetheless, she found the lack of conversation slightly unnerving.

“Captain,” she interjected softly, hesitant to intrude on his thoughts. He turned his head to look at her. “What are your thoughts on the negotiations so far?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, possibly to wrap up a previous thought before starting a new one. “They seem to be… agreeable.”

“The negotiations or the Grottians?”

“Either,” he said decisively. “Frankly, I’d rather those cave-crawling landgrabbers take their quarrels and leave the sector for good, but it’s true that we cannot access the planet’s resources without their technology.” He regarded Shannon directly as they came to a halt in front of the turbolift doors. “I do not like to admit shortcomings, Commander, however, I don’t believe you or your crew to be a threat to us, so honesty comes at no cost here.”

“That’s good to hear,” she said, gesturing for the captain to enter first. _I think_.

The ride to the bridge was a quick one, and once they’d arrived, Shannon led the way to Captain Murali’s ready room. As the chime sounded and the doors slid aside to allow them entry, Shannon addressed the Strux captain. “I’m sure Captain Murali is looking forward to hearing about our deal and what you know about the incident near Starbase 214. Please, after you.”

Captain Murali rose from his desk chair to greet them as they arrived. “Captain Dako, Commander O’Malley, it’s good to see you,” he said, gesturing for them to take a seat. “Captain, my First Officer says you have some interesting information to share with me.”

“Indeed I do, Captain,” Dako said, taking a seat across from the older man. Shannon took her place in the remaining chair. “Your First Officer and I were discussing an exchange of information the other night. While it has nothing to do with the current negotiations with the Grottians, I believe it will still be of great interest to you.”

Raj leaned forward in his chair and furrowed his brow at the Strux captain opposite him. “Is that so?”

“Do you recall the events near your Federation starbase a few months back? A shuttle containing your XO and a helmsman intercepted a Strux vessel and narrowly escaped with their lives?” Dako’s puckered mouth seemed to be pulling itself back into what almost looked to be a wry grin. Shannon furrowed her brows just enough to feel the muscles of her forehead tug. _Did I misunderstand his feelings toward the Antithenai?_

“I do,” the Captain replied gravely. “What of those events?”

Dako leaned forward and placed two neatly-laced orange hands-on Captain Murali’s desk before lowering his voice and speaking in a private tone. “The information I have for you is exceptionally sensitive, Captain. From one powerful man to another, I believe there is a certain understanding when I tell you that there are consequences for loose lips and leaked intelligence. Your first officer has earned my trust in our short time aboard this ship, and she leads me to believe that I can place similar trust in you. I hope that she is correct, but make no mistake that broken trust is not taken lightly among my people.”

Silence hung in the air between the two captains as time slowed for Shannon, a bystander to the intense battle of wills unfolding before her. Despite Captain Dako’s speech, the majority of the conversation the two of them were having was entirely nonverbal, communicated between Raj’s icy blue eyes and Zhistran’s void-black stare. The tension broke as Raj finally spoke, leaning back slightly in his chair.

“As the Commander has assuredly informed you, then, the attack on the shuttle was not the primary threat. The same Strux vessel was also responsible for a chemical attack that threatened the lives of the entire station, not to mention this ship as well. By all means, though, continue.”

“The ship that Commander O’Malley and her crewman encountered was a stolen vessel. No one in the Hegemony at any level of command sanctioned the ship’s release or its mission. As of yet, we have been unable to track down the vessel, but I do have an idea as to who was piloting it.” 

Dako leaned back in his chair and moved his hands to his lap, keeping them neatly folded as he continued. “Even the most strict regimes cannot control all people at all times. It would seem that we have a rogue group on our hands. Word has been circulating of a splinter faction called the Antithenai for some time now, though no one had seen or interacted with them. Trade vessels have been found gutted and derelict, their crew slaughtered and the remainder left to suffocate once life support failed. Ships turned up missing across the quadrant, a shuttle here or a small cargo carrier there. All of them conveniently untrackable. No government is perfect, Captain, but there are very few holes in the Hegemony. The Antithenai are a group of marauders acting outside of our control. They are a disgrace to our lifestyle of order, and we wish for them to be stopped at all costs. The longer they are permitted to live, the greater their numbers will undoubtedly grow. Rebellion breeds civil unrest, and now is not the time for a revolution. With significant resources being spent on this war with the Grottians, maintaining the frontlines and squashing the seeds of revolution would inevitably lead to ruin for our system of government, be it through territory encroachment or a coup. This... _predicament_ ,” he said sourly, “is why I am turning to you, Captain. Commander O’Malley has promised that, in exchange for our limited information about the Antithenai, your sensor readings from the encounter near Starbase 214 would be made available to us. All of this, of course, would be kept strictly confidential. The Federation and the Strux Hegemony have yet to form a proper relationship. Starting our association with only the knowledge of a violent and dangerous offshoot and a strained territorial agreement with another race does not set the best precedent for future interactions. Don’t you agree?”

Shannon saw a mix of surprise and opportunity on the Captain’s face as he took in the situation. He paused before responding, though she could not tell if he was mulling over a decision or simply letting Dako’s anticipation build. Eventually, though, he leaned forward and addressed the Strux captain.

“I believe we can come to an arrangement, Captain. I have been given broad latitude in what I report back to Starfleet Command, and what diplomatic tools are at my disposal this far from Federation-governed space. I will uphold Commander O’Malley’s deal with you and trade our information for yours. I would like to expand on that deal, though, assuming that our negotiations continue to be successful over the next few days. If we manage to start a lasting peace between your people and the Grottians, the Federation would like to extend formal diplomatic ties beyond what my vessel can provide. Do you think you could convince your government to establish a more regular contact with the Federation Diplomatic Corps?”

Captain Dako laughed. Whether or not it was intended to be a menacing laugh, Shannon wasn’t sure, but the effect was strong nonetheless. “Captain, while I appreciate your offer and would gladly do my part to see that it was honored, I do not believe that the outcome of our discussions here will lead to lasting peace. Isolated pockets of neutrality exist within any warzone, and Delta Ionis would likely be no different. It is true, we tire of war, but this bloody controversy has been going on for generations. One peaceful arrangement seems unlikely to sway the tides of a multi-sector blood feud.”

“With all due respect, Captain,” Shannon interjected, leaning forward into Dako’s periphery and drawing his attention, “that kind of mentality is what perpetuates these centuries-long wars.”

Captain Dako grimaced. “Are we, as a people, supposed to just put aside our differences and forgive the Grottians for generations of senseless slaughter?”

“Eventually, yes,” Shannon said, shifting to lean an arm over the back of her chair, opening her posture to the conversation. “Either that or your people keep fighting until one side ceases to exist. Considering the Hegemony may soon be faced with a rebellion that would tax your resources, considering peace negotiations on a galactic scale might be in your best interests.”

“As if the Grottians know the meaning of peace,” Dako spat. “You may not know their people outside of this isolated dispute but I do. They are not the peaceful, meditative sort you seem to take them for. They’re vicious, conniving snakes who lurk in the shadows dealing blows where they believe no one will notice. They’re nothing but a bunch of honorless cowards.”

“I can see why you’d think that just based on what you’ve told me,” Shannon continued, placatingly, “but perhaps they have similar sentiments about peace. You said that you would honor Captain Murali’s request, which implies that you do, in some capacity, wish for peace. What harm is there in acting on that wish?”

The Strux captain grumbled pensively for a moment before sighing sharply. “None, I suppose. It’ll take me some time to figure out an effective way of proposing the idea to my superiors, and all of this hinges on some measure of success in these proceedings. Should they fall through, I would have no basis for my argument and would do far more harm to my own reputation than it could ever be worth.”

“All of this is dependent on the negotiations concluding on a positive note, Captain,” Raj assured him. “I don’t need anything set in stone today. I only wanted to express my wish to work toward a lasting relationship between our two peoples. Now in the interest of supporting these negotiations, I’m afraid we must set this discussion aside for the immediate future, lest the Grottians start to believe I am no longer impartial. Thank you for coming forward with the news of the Antithenai, Captain. I’ll have our sensor logs and reports ready for you within the hour.”

“Indeed,” Dako said, standing up. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. If Commander O’Malley is ready, I would like to return to my quarters. I look forward to your reports.”

Shannon stood to follow Captain Dako as he made his way to the door, pausing to give an apologetic look to Raj for the abrupt exit of their guest. The two of them made their way to the turbolift and headed down to Deck Eight.

“I’d like to thank you again for agreeing to meet with my captain to discuss the Antithenai,” she said as the lift began to hum.

“I make deals that I believe will benefit those I stand for. In this case, the benefit happens to be mutual, unless I’ve misjudged your intentions.” Captain Dako leaned against the back wall of the chamber and folded his arms across his chest. “All we can do now is wait. Further discussion is only likely to spread information to the wrong ears, at this point.”

“Very well,” Shannon said with an understanding nod as the turbolift doors opened and the pair stepped out into the hall. She escorted the captain to his room in silence before returning to her own chambers farther down the deck. As she walked down the empty hall, she let her thoughts wander.

 _Captain Dako is a strange man. For someone with such a prickly exterior, he seems to hold onto a secret hope for the better. Still, the fact that the Strux were involved in the attack on the starbase a while back doesn’t make me completely comfortable around them. The representatives from the_ Khree _seem to be well-enough behaved, but between the surveillance bug and the feeling in the pit of my stomach, something definitely isn’t right here._


	23. Chapter 23

“Something isn’t right here,” Jessica said as she poked at her replicated shrimp gumbo. “I know the Strux delegation is up to something, but I can’t find the proof. I mean, why would they even agree to this little conference in the first place? They obviously have the stronger legal argument, and they seem content to blast the Grottians into space dust for the next few centuries if that’s what it takes them. What do they have to gain from risking their claim to this system by negotiating now?”

Jeremy shrugged as he took a long drink of root beer from a chilled mug, pausing to wipe traces of froth from his mustache. “Obviously, their captain thought there was something beneficial that could come from this negotiation. Maybe they just didn’t want Federation witnesses to an isolated act of war.”

“Maybe, or maybe not. They’re just too hard to read. I haven’t exactly had a lot of time to spend getting to know them, with all of the work we’ve had to do to keep the Grottians happy.” She paused to finish off her second drink of the evening and nodded when Hob, the bartender, gave her a questioning look. He took her glass back toward the bar, and she continued. 

“This whole mess makes me wonder if we should even really be here, you know?”

“It’s not like we came here specifically to arbitrate, Jess. We were following our mission when we came across their dispute and got sucked into it.” Jeremy helped himself to a couple of spoonfuls of an aromatic spiced stew before continuing. “Besides, the Federation has no records of interactions with either of these groups. Getting to know them while they’re on their best behavior has been pretty interesting if you ask me.”

“Is that what we’re calling it, now?” she asked with a grin. “Alright then, how has ‘getting to know’ the delegation been going for you?”

The sudden shift in her tone seemed to catch him off guard as he choked on his stew. As his coughing settled, he shot Jessica a look through furrowed eyebrows. “I thought we’d agreed not to mention that.”

“Come on, Caldwell, we’re all adults here, and friends, too. It’s a fair question.”

Jeremy grumbled and took another swig of root beer. “I’ve tried to put some distance between us after that night. She couldn’t seem to care less, but if the other delegation thinks any of us is playing favorites, it could blow up this whole deal and _Babel_ with it.” He sighed and pushed the glass away. “I have been able to use her fondness for me along with my position as their escort to sit in on more than I otherwise might have. They’re very prim and proper in a group setting, completely different from how Irava seems to enjoy acting when alone. I can’t speak for the other members of the delegation. The captain has been courteous but distant, the other male delegate has been cordial enough, the older woman among them seems to play the role of the matriarch and is honestly kind of intimidating, and then there’s Irava. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost say she doesn’t quite fit in with the others. She’s far more sociable and, well, _personal_ than any of them.”

“Is that because she _is_ more personable, or because you haven’t made the same effort with the others? And Jeremy, that’s not me trying to be critical of you, for the record. You seem pretty happy around Irava. It’s a good look for you.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not something that’s destined to last. Once the deliberations are over, it’s going to be back to the usual. As for the amount of effort I’m putting into my interactions with the other delegates, I don’t know. It’s hard to make chemistry happen with people when it’s not there from the start. As a whole, I find their company to be rather stuffy. Her conversation is more like what I’d find with you or Shannon. It’s easy, almost effortless.”

“Speaking of Commander O’Malley, here she comes,” Jessica said, nodding to the sliding doors at the port entrance to Ten-Forward. The redheaded woman looked nearly as exhausted as Jessica was, but was alert enough to notice the two of them at the bar and make her way over.

Jeremy shot Jessica a pleading glance as Shannon took the seat on his opposite side. He turned to her and smiled, carrying on as if the previous conversation had not been taking place. “Afternoon, Commander, or is it evening already?”

“It’s been evening for at least three hours already, Caldwell,” Shannon responded drearily as she ordered a whiskey, neat. Hob, the bartender, pulled a bottle out from under the bar and poured a glass of clear brown liquid for the strained-looking woman. She took a sip and grimaced as she swallowed, shaking her head with a grunt. “How long have you been sitting here?” she asked, her voice strained from the burn of the alcohol.

“Not that long,” Jeremy responded, “I think we got off shift an hour or two ago. You look like you’ve just gotten done cramming a month of work into a single day.”

“It’s been a long shift full of meetings and speculation,” she said, taking another drink and emptying the glass. “I don’t really want to talk about it, and if I did, the local speakeasy isn’t really the place for it. What were you guys talking about?”

Jeremy tried to get the jump on Jessica but wasn’t quite fast enough. “Oh, nothing re-”

“We were just discussing the... disposition of the Grottian delegation,” she said. “They’ve certainly provided some excitement over the last two days.”

Using his meal as a convenient cover-up, Jeremy made an irritated face at Jessica as he helped himself to the remains of his stew. Her response was a near-imperceptible eyebrow bounce.

“That’s more or less what my day has been about, though from the other side of the field. Turns out there might be more to the Strux than we’d anticipated, though I don’t know that any of us are really sure exactly what that ‘more’ is or how far it extends.” Shannon nodded to Hob as he refreshed her drink. “Whatever the case may be, I don’t think ‘excitement’ is the right word for it. Their captain is surprisingly nice though, just don’t tell him I told you.”

“Really?” Jeremy snorted in disbelief. “And here I thought that standoffish appearance was part of a complete package.”

“As far as his subordinates know, it is more than skin deep. I guess if you’re not one of his underlings, there’s a chance you see his good side.” Shannon shrugged. “I think he just gets tired of dealing with people.”

Jessica nodded. “I suppose that’s fair. How is the rest of the group?”

“Typical minions as far as I can tell. They don’t seem to have much to say beyond the standard ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir.’” Shannon paused to order some food before regarding both of them equally. “What about on your end of things? What’s been so exciting about the Grottian delegation? Are they as weirdly optimistic yet incredibly bitter about this war as the Dako seems to be?”

“As far as I can tell, they just want to get on with things,” Jeremy responded. “I can’t say I blame them though. The Strux have them outgunned and the Grottians are in Hegemony space. The odds aren’t exactly in their favor.”

“That would make me antsy too, but surely they’ve said something else about the war as a whole, haven’t they?” Shannon asked. One of the waitstaff set a plate of corned beef down in front of her and the commander took a deep, savoring breath of the steaming brined meat platter.

“Don’t you ever eat outside your comfort zone?” Jeremy asked, derailing the subject.

“Listen here, Root Beer, it’s called comfort food for a reason,” Shannon shot back at him, picking up a fork and digging into a piping hot potato.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and let Shannon eat her meal in peace, continuing a conversation with Jessica about various cuisines. The commander chimed in here and there between bites but spent most of the conversation simply listening and seemingly enjoying not being obligated to participate. After a second mug of root beer, Jeremy stood up and pushed in his barstool.

“I’ve got a geological survey to analyze before tomorrow morning, so I’m going to call it a night. I’ll see you both tomorrow more likely than not.”

“Good night, Lieutenant.” Shannon said with a nod. “Enjoy your late-night number-crunching.”

Jessica waited until the doors had closed behind him to turn toward Shannon. “Commander, can I ask you for a favor? It has to do with what I found at dinner last night.”

“Of course,” she responded, lowering her voice.

“One of the Strux ambassadors was absent at dinner. Ghravis, if I remember correctly. As the Strux attache, I need you to search his quarters for me.”

“For what, another bug?”

“That, or something to control it. Naazt and I went over it earlier, and we’re pretty sure there’s a whole network of the little bastards crawling around the ship. They’re scattering their transmissions so that we can’t track them, but if we can find whatever device is receiving the end transmissions, we won’t need to find them individually.”

“What makes you think it’s Ghravis?”

“His absence at dinner makes him the likely suspect, and he’s had the most time available to coordinate the network. Look, I can’t go in there without it being obvious what I’m after. You’re part of their delegation. If you get caught in there, they won’t suspect a thing.”

“I’m their escort and the first officer of this ship. I don’t have a reason to be snooping around in the VIP quarters unless I do suspect something. It’s not like we provide room service or something.”

“Commander, this is the only lead I have right now. Just walk in and take a look around. If anyone sees you, you can just say you were looking for the ambassador and bore them with details of the mining agreement. Just say the first thing that Caldwell would find exciting and they’ll be so happy to get away from you that you’ll probably have the whole place to yourself.”

Shannon laughed. “Alright, alright, I’ll think of something. Maybe I can have Raj call a brief meeting or something and let someone else be their temporary liaison.” She opened her mouth to suggest another possibility before waving the thought away. “I’ll come up with something and let you know as soon as I have a plan.”

“Thank you, Commander. I promise I won’t waste your time.”


	24. Chapter 24

_This is a complete waste of my time,_ Shannon thought as she walked down the hallway of Deck Eight. The captain had called an early morning meeting with the delegations to discuss the process moving forward and propose talks of further peace should the negotiations continue to go well. In her absence, Ensign Meeko had been left to escort the delegation on his own. Though he’d seemed less than happy about the idea of being their sole guide at the time, Shannon didn’t think there was any reason why he wouldn’t be up to the task. Given half the chance, she’d gladly trade places with him.

Shannon came to a halt in front of Ghravis’ door and entered the override code to unlock it. Inside, the room was dark and had a faint odor that she couldn’t quite place. Nothing appeared to be immediately out of line aside from a broken replicator that looked like it had short-circuited and suffered from a small electrical fire. She walked over to it and upon closer inspection noticed signs of forced entry around the charred control panel.

_I guess he really was trying to reprogram the thing. I’m sure Engineering is going to love fixing that…_

Continuing her sweep of the room, Shannon made her way toward the center of the living space and pulled out a tricorder. The device beeped as she scanned the room for signs of anything suspicious. 360 degrees later, the scan had turned up nothing. She closed the tricorder and placed it back in its holster on her hip.

_If anyone were to walk in here and see me snooping around with nothing to show for it, it could topple the whole negotiation. The Strux would lose all trust for us and the Grottians would use the information to their advantage. Even some members of my own crew might be tempted to gossip, which would be just as bad if not worse. Let’s just get this over with._

The bedroom area harbored even more of the bizarre aroma she’d noticed upon entry into the VIP quarters. It smelled almost like earthworms or decaying plant matter, but there was still no sign of where the smell was coming from. Shannon flipped on the light and found the delegate’s unmade bed, a small pile of garments, and what appeared to be a box of dirt.

“That’s probably where the smell is coming from, but why would someone carry a box of… what is this, compost?”

She crouched down and, against her better judgment, stuck a finger into the contents of the box. It certainly felt like dirt. If the replicator had been working, she would have asked it to synthesize a pair of gloves, but in the interest of not sparking another fire in the room, she decided that whatever might be in there could probably be cured either under running water or in sickbay.

Before sticking her hands all the way in the soil, Shannon lifted the box and gave it a shake. Nothing seemed to rattle or stir inside, and once she was certain there was no alien creature living in the humus, she rolled up the sleeves of her uniform and plunged a hand in. It wasn’t long before her fingertips brushed something solid. She closed her hand carefully around the object and pulled it out of the dirt.

_What the-_

It appeared to be a control piece. If she didn’t know better, she’d say it looked like a remote detonator for an explosive device. _But the Strux have no reason to blow up_ Babel _, do they?_ Setting the item carefully on the ground, she reached her hand back into the soil and pulled out several other pieces. Individually, they appeared to be inert, but all together, they looked like they might all be elements of a bomb.

“Alright, Jess, you win this one,” she said to the empty room as she stared at the pile of parts. “But why hide it in a box of dirt?”

Now that she’d found concrete evidence to back her crew’s growing suspicion, Shannon gathered up the items, placing all the pieces carefully back into the soil before picking up the box.

“Computer,” Shannon asked as the listening chirp echoed from the room’s speakers. “Is there anyone in the hallway outside this room?”

“ _There is currently no one in the hallway of Deck Eight._ ”

“Where is ambassador Ghravis?”

“ _Ambassador Ghravis is currently in the Observation Lounge_.”

“Excellent.” Shannon tapped her combadge and waited for its signature chirp. “O’Malley to Lieutenants Barnes and Naazt: Meet me in the VIP quarters on Deck Eight, and post a security team outside the conference room.”


	25. Chapter 25

“These accusations are nothing but lies and slander!” Ambassador Ghravis screamed from the other side of the forcefield. When Jessica’s security team had placed the delegate in custody, he reacted with immediate violence, injuring two of the crewmen making the arrest. It was because of that violence that she had been able to persuade the Captain to place him in the bring, rather than confine him to the very quarters where the explosive device had been found. 

“Lieutenant,” the Strux Captain Dako inquired, “is it really necessary to hold him in a cell? I understand the ramifications of what you claim to have found, but I know Ghravis. He might be short-tempered, but he is no criminal. Surely this evidence must have been planted, either by the Grottians or by someone on your vessel who would paint us as the criminals so many of you make us out to be. Don’t think I haven’t heard the gossip.”

He’s _the short-tempered one?_ Jessica thought to herself while suppressing a grimace. She drew herself up as tall as she could muster, which still didn’t compare to the Strux captain’s formidable height, and spoke with all the authority of a seasoned Security Chief.

“Captain, with all due respect, he _became_ a criminal when he assaulted two members of my security team, regardless of the truth behind the bomb threat. When my team finds all the parts to make an explosive device in someone’s quarters, the only reasonable action I can take to ensure the safety of the people aboard this ship is to arrest them pending a full investigation.”

“And why should we trust your investigation?” Ghravis interrupted snappily, continuing to pace the length of his small cell. 

“You’ll trust it,” she responded, “because I neither have the time nor the inclination to frame anyone. I put in a great deal of effort to ensure that the Grottian delegation was kept in the dark.”

“In the dark?” the two Strux asked in unison.

“We didn’t tell them what happened,” she explained. “Now, Ambassador Ghravis, we have a few questions for you.”

“Why should I-” he started, before Captain Dako shouted over him.

“You will answer her questions! I will not have these talks collapse because a member of my crew chose the wrong time to be obstinate!”

“Yes, Captain,” Ghravis said with a defeated expression. “Ask me your questions, Lieutenant. I am not afraid.”

Jessica nodded and retrieved the box full of soil Shannon had uncovered, along with the various parts of the incomplete explosive device, each separately labeled and bagged. “Very well then. How did the materials I have here come to be in your possession?” 

“I have never seen them before,” Ghravis replied, crossing his arms irritably. “Whatever they are, they were obviously planted by someone else.”

Jessica sighed. _He still insists on the same story._ “And who might that be, Ambassador?”

“No one from our delegation, I assure you. The Strux are an honorable people, unlike those Grottian scavengers. Perhaps you should go ask them.”

“Don’t tempt me,” she snapped back, much to Captain Dako’s dismay. “Where were you two nights ago during the introductory dinner? You were the only member of either delegation not present.”

“I was... indisposed.” He stared at his feet awkwardly, and she could have sworn she saw his orange skin darken in color.

“You’re going to have to be more specific than that, Ambassador. These are serious charges, and they deserve a serious explanation.”

The man swallowed nervously before meeting her eyes. “I was tampering with your food synthesizer, trying to make it better meet my needs. My repairs were... less than successful. If you must know, I was violently ill the entire night, and much of the following morning.”

She raised an eyebrow in the direction of Captain Dako, who nodded gravely. “And you claim that this box, as well as its contents, were not in your quarters when you last left this morning?”

“That is correct.”

Jessica paced the room, thinking through the events of the last few days. Brief trips from one VIP room to the next aside, all of the delegates had been accounted-for for nearly the entire duration of their stay. She had personally seen to the overnight and early morning patrol of the Grottian quarters, and she hadn’t seen anyone other than Jeremy hastily leaving Irava’s quarters before the start of the alpha shift that morning. _He’s lucky he’s a good friend. With everything going on, I should have listed him on the security log, good intentions or otherwise. That would teach him to at least wave at me when I saw him down the hall. God, I was tired, though. Maybe he did wave and I missed it? It was him, though, wasn’t it?_ Panic sinking in, she tapped her combadge.

“Barnes to Lieutenant Caldwell.”

There was no response. She tapped her badge again.

“Barnes to Caldwell. Jeremy, please respond.”

Again, she heard nothing.

“Computer, locate Lieutenant Caldwell.”

_“Lieutenant Caldwell is on Deck Eight, in VIP Quarters.”_

She let out a curse that made both of the Strux jump, then made for the door.

“Lieutenant, where are you going?” Dako asked.

“To ask the Grottian delegation, like Ghravis suggested.”


	26. Chapter 26

“You know what I find most intriguing?” Jeremy asked Irava over his plate of steamed crustaceans. “How much our cultures have in common despite the obvious differences.”

Irava looked up from her own meal, the scent of earthy spices wafting through the air as she lifted another piece of meat from the small pile on her plate. “How so?” she asked before popping the piece in her mouth and shifting her weight casually onto her elbow.

“Well, for starters, our cuisine has a fair amount of overlap.” He paused to take a sip of the Grottian wine. Its aroma and taste were unusual, though not unpleasant, with more vegetal notes than fruity ones.

Irava interrupted as he drank. “You have wort wine and cave shrimp?”

Jeremy chuckled. “We have grape wine and ocean shrimp, though some species live in caves.”

“Alright,” she said with a smile, “what else?”

“There are plenty of physical similarities,” he responded with a suggestive smirk.

“No dessert until after dinner,” she winked. “You know, I’ve been wondering. Not to change the subject, but what brought your crew out here? From what I gather, you’re a long way from Federation space.”

He paused, slightly disappointed by the shift in conversation. “Exploration,” he shrugged, gently stabbing a shrimp with his fork. “We go places and learn things. This sector of space is largely unknown to us, so we were tasked with learning more.”

“And what have you learned?”

Again, he grinned. “Me personally or _Babel_ as a whole, because those are two very different answers.”

“ _Babel_ as a whole, you silly man.” He could see the glimmer on the surface of her pearly eyes shift as she answered him.

 _Did she just roll her eyes at me?_ “As a whole,” he pressed on, “I believe it’s safe to say we’ve learned a great deal about the Grottians and the Strux, though we’ve only just scratched the surface when it comes to understanding. Since we arrived in the nebula, we’ve also been able to gather invaluable telemetry data to learn more about this ancient star-forming region, as well as its collection of planets.” Jeremy’s expression lit up as Irava reached for her drink. Taking the invitation to continue, he launched into the details he cared about most. “You know what’s most fascinating about this system is the unusually high concentration of dilithium and other rare elements, not to mention heavy metals. Whatever star went supernova to form this system must have been absolutely _massive_. The planet alone--”

“Jeremy, please,” Irava said in exasperation, rubbing her temples.

“Too much?” he asked with a nervous laugh.

“Just a bit. Finish your dinner before it gets cold.”

He sighed and continued eating his shrimp, pausing every so often to take a sip of his wine. With his mouth full, Irava had a chance to do the talking.

“I honestly don’t know how you do it,” she said, swirling the wine in her glass. “You’re a brilliant man, and your Federation is clearly well-equipped with advanced technology, so I doubt you’re an anomaly among your peers. Still, I never had the mind for science. I tried for years, but it just never stuck. Talking to people was what I excelled at. Negotiations, deliberations, any sort of political discourse came far more naturally to me than math or geology.”

As he listened, Jeremy took another sip of his wine, noticing the headiness of it more than usual. It was a pleasantly warm feeling. _Maybe it’s something in the spices. There is a bit of heat to this dish._

“It would seem, however, that you and I differ in that respect.” Irava grinned and set down her glass, her untraceable gaze piercing him like a dagger. “Out of all the people on this ship, you’ve spent the most time with me, yet you’ve failed to pick up on the most critical part of my mission. I don’t trust the Strux, surely you’ve noticed that much at least. Beyond that, I _despise_ their entire race, their civilization, and everything they ever have or could stand for. Generations of their people have been murdering mine, and no peace treaty over some minor ancestral system is going to make up for slaughter of that magnitude.”

Jeremy moved to slam his hands against the table, but his arms were sluggish. His head felt like he’d had a pint of Romulan Ale, and his feet were like lead weights attached to shoelaces. “ _What’s gotten into you?_ ” he tried to ask, but his words slurred incomprehensibly. Pushing through the fog, he tried to get to his feet, but as soon as he’d cleared the chair, his knees gave out and he crumpled to the floor. His arms were useless. His toes were numb.

“These negotiations _will_ fail,” Irava said through a confident and menacing smile as she loomed over Jeremy’s motionless body, his eyes searching hers for the slightest hint of familiarity. “I just thought that, after all we’ve shared, I’d at least do you the courtesy of sharing this one final piece. How does the saying go? ‘All’s fair in love and war?’”

Darkness began to seep in from all sides as colors washed out before him and the world slowly faded to black. His instinct was to panic, but whatever she had slipped him prevented the expenditure of any unnecessary energy. From the floor of the VIP quarters, he watched through fading eyes as Irava picked something up from a case by the sofa, tucked it onto her person, and walked out the door without so much as a glance in his direction. Not a minute later, the world went dark and silence consumed him.


	27. Chapter 27

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” 

Two crewmen jumped out of the way as Jessica ran down the hallway and toward the nearest turbolift, her mind buzzing with apprehension... and guilt. _This never would have happened if you’d just followed regulations_ , she chastised herself. _You put Jeremy at risk-- no, you put the whole_ crew _at risk by trusting your good judgment over the requirements of the job you signed on for, and who knows what the damage is going to be._

“Deck Eight,” she said before the turbolift doors had even fully closed behind her. “Security override Barnes-Four-Seven.” 

The computer acknowledged the command with a brief chirp, locking the lift’s course to ensure it would not stop for additional passengers before reaching its destination. Still, being forced to stand patiently in a turbolift while a dangerous spy and saboteur was on the loose didn’t sit well with Jessica, who angrily activated her combadge.

“Barnes to Ensign Meeko, get a security team together, and sweep the ship. The Grottian delegate Irava is now a highly dangerous suspect and needs to be detained. I’ll explain more when I can.”

She waited for a response from her second-in-command of Security, but heard nothing. She hit the combadge again.

“Barnes to Meeko, come in.”

Nothing again.

“Barnes to the bridge.”

Nothing.

“Computer, what’s the status of the communication network?”

 _“The internal communication network aboard the_ U.S.S. Babel _is currently offline.”_

“Explain.”

_“The cause of interference is unknown.”_

Jessica punched the wall of the lift in frustration. _That bitch must be making her move now. Damn it, Caldwell, you’d better be okay..._

The turbolift came to a halt and she came out at a run, rounding the corner toward the Grottian diplomatic suites. She reached the door to Irava’s quarters and found the door predictably locked.

“Computer, unlock the door, security override.”

_“Unable to comply. Locking mechanism has malfunctioned.”_

“Well fuck you, too, then,” she replied, removing the phaser from her belt and firing it directly into the lock at a low setting. The door popped audibly, and she pried it open by hand. She held the phaser out at the ready, sweeping the room, but the woman had clearly long since departed. When she saw Jeremy lying unmoving on the floor, she no longer cared where Irava had gone. 

Jessica rushed to his side, trying desperately to make out a pulse over the pounding of her own heartbeat. Thankfully, it was there, and strong, if very slow. _It’s just a sedative, thank God. She must have spiked his drink or his food._ She set the phaser down and moved to the first aid kit on the wall. Inside, among the many other more commonly used items, was a small hypospray bottle. She pressed the spray against Jeremy’s neck and thumbed the applicator, releasing the emergency stimulant contained within. _This stuff is strong enough to wake the dead, so it’d better be enough for you._

Jeremy’s eyes shot open as he bolted upright with a gasp. “Get back here!” he shouted, delirious but determined. He looked around the room, his wide-eyed gaze eventually coming to rest on Jessica. “Irava. Where did she go? Someone has to stop her.” He opened his mouth to say more but stopped when she threw her arms around him.

“You idiot,” she said as she blinked away a pair of tears. She pulled away from him and wiped her eyes, her face once again deadly serious. “She’s taken out the ship’s internal comms. How long has she been gone?”

Jeremy looked puzzled, then turned to look at the clock on the wall of Irava’s quarters. “I’m not sure. An hour?”

She grimaced. An entire hour was a long time to do damage on a ship of _Babel’_ s size. “Then we don’t have much time to lose. Any idea where she might be going?”

He shook his head and pointed to a familiar empty case near the door. “She took something out of that case over there. I don’t know where she went, but she’s hell-bent on ruining the negotiations.”

“They’re scheduled to start again any minute now, in the Observation Lounge,” she said as she took Jeremy’s hand and hauled him to his feet. 

Jeremy groaned and stretched his back. “Well then,” he grunted, tilting his head side to side as he popped a couple of kinks in his neck, “we’d better move fast.”


	28. Chapter 28

“And you find these terms agreeable, Captain Dako?” Raj asked the Strux captain to his left, who was looking over the PADD in his hands with distaste after arriving just minutes ago. 

“I dislike them, Captain Murali,” he said finally, “and they feel like a betrayal of what many of my kin have died for. But... I find them agreeable, given the circumstances.”

Raj turned to the Grottian delegation and took in their reaction. The negotiations, as difficult as they had been, were finally reaching a peaceful conclusion. The Strux had agreed to cede the system to the Grottians, in exchange for military access through the region, an official statement rescinding traditional Grottian claims on multiple nearby star systems, and a sizeable share of their dilithium output. Some would say the deal was extortionary on the part of the Strux, given the relatively small return for the Grottians, but it also marked the first time in recorded history that the Strux Hegemony had ceded space to another sovereign entity, a fact that clearly did not sit well with Captain Dako.

The Grottian delegation, for all their posturing and objections to their small gain, seemed relatively pleased. Captain Kimal was positively glowing with pride, and his associates seemed satisfied, Ambassador Morgus particularly so, with a knowing smile on her face that sent chills down Raj’s spine. As he turned to his First Officer to share his own pride in their accomplishment, Ambassador Morgus rose from the table, prompting most of the table to turn to face her.

“I apologize for the poor timing,” she said politely, “but I must excuse myself momentarily. Please, carry on without me.” Raj shared a puzzled look with Shannon, but picked up his PADD and prepared to move forward with the discussion. 

As the door to the conference room opened, Lieutenants Barnes and Caldwell barreled inside. The entire room froze in astonishment as Jessica pointed a phaser directly at the young Grottian woman.

“Ambassador, don’t move,” demanded the Chief of Security. “Put your hands up, now.”

Captain Kimal was the first to react, nearly jumping out of his chair. “What is the meaning of this? How dare you draw a weapon on a member of my staff!”

Any response Lieutenant Barnes made was lost among the rest of the voices that followed, as all semblance of order in the conference room gave way to shouting and accusations. Ambassador Morgus made for the door but was pinned to the floor by Lieutenant Caldwell, as Jessica stepped between the two of them and the rest of the delegates. Raj sat silently for several moments before standing calmly at the head of the table. He cleared his throat and proceeded to silence the room.

“That’s enough!”

The shouting voices receded into a low murmur, gradually stopping altogether as Raj glared at each individual still speaking. When he was satisfied, he nodded to no one in particular.

“We’ve spent the last few days being civil with each other, as hard as it was for some of us. After all we’ve been through, are you all so keen to start fighting again that you would reduce yourself to this level of barbarism?” The delegates looked away, embarrassed or ashamed of their behavior, with the notable exception of Captain Dako of the Strux, who was still staring straight at Ambassador Morgus, who had been moved to the corner of the room and was still being held at phaser point by Lieutenant Barnes.

Raj nodded to Jessica. “Lieutenant, would you care to explain yourself?”

“I think I’ll let the evidence do the talking, Captain.” She shared a look with Lieutenant Caldwell, who reached into the ambassador’s robes and produced a small device.

“This,” Jeremy said, “is a remote detonator for an explosive device, which we believe can be found in this room.” He took out a tricorder and swept the area, moving through the stunned crowd until he came to a halt in front of a large fern in the port-most corner of the lounge. He set the tricorder down and rummaged through the dirt. Even knowing what Jeremy was going to find, Raj felt a knot in his stomach when Jeremy’s hand came out with a cylindrical device identical to what Jessica’s team had assembled from the parts found in Ambassador Ghravis’ quarters.

“It’s the same damn plant,” Jessica muttered. At Raj’s prompting look, she elaborated, explaining the situation to the rest of the delegation.

“After the opening banquet two nights ago, I found a small autonomous listening device that had burrowed itself in that very planter. Upon further investigation, we came to the conclusion that there were several of these devices roaming about the ship, smuggled on board by one of the delegates. At first, we assumed that their only function was to gather information, and in the interest of continuing the peace talks, we decided not to make this information public knowledge. It was only after we found evidence of an explosive device in the making in Ambassador Ghravis’ quarters that I began to suspect the real purpose of the devices.” 

Confident that, with the detonator secured, there was no further risk to the ship, Jessica began to pace the room as she talked. “An explosive device like the one Lieutenant Caldwell just recovered would normally be detected by our ship’s sensors when transporting you all to the ship, but if the parts were kept separate and sufficiently concealed with other items, they may slip through without triggering any warnings. This was the case here. Ambassador Morgus intended to disrupt these negotiations from the beginning, and she hid the necessary parts for two explosives in the belongings of the rest of her team, as well as the little bugs, which were designed to assemble the pieces at a location she designated after coming aboard. She had the first one partly assembled in Ambassador Ghravis’ quarters after he failed to appear at dinner, knowing that he would be the individual we suspected first. She then had the second explosive assembled here, with the intent to detonate it during today’s meeting, killing you all and pinning the blame on the Strux.”

“But why?” came an agonized cry from Captain Kimal. “Irava, we trusted you. I thought we all were working toward peace. How could you do this to your people?”

“My people,” she hissed, “are the millions who died in battle fighting for what was taken from us generations ago.”


	29. Chapter 29

“I will _not_ continue negotiations with the likes of those two-faced, shadow-dwelling liars!” Dako thundered as he paced the length of his quarters. The orange mottling of his skin had grown several shades darker since he began his tirade, and Shannon swore it wasn’t getting any lighter.

“Captain, I understand your frustration, but if you’d listen to reason-”

“Reason!” he spat. “The only _reason_ we entered these negotiations was at your insistence, and look where that got us!” He marched across the room and jammed a finger in Shannon’s face. “For all we know, Commander, you’re as much of a traitor in these negotiations as the Grottians are!”

Shannon stood up and faced off with the Strux captain, his finger following the tip of her nose as she rose. “Those allegations,” she hissed, swatting his hand away, “are unfounded and untrue, and I believe you know that. Now, Captain, we can do this the Federation way or the Strux way, but come hell or high water, we are going to talk about what happened.”

“Don’t patronize me like I’m some kind of animal, Commander!” Dako’s teeth were bared and the mottling on his face was warped by his snarl. “Your ship is well beyond the borders of your precious Federation, so I would caution you to watch your tongue.”

“Is that a threat?” Shannon leaned back slightly, her expression unwavering. “Might I remind you that _we_ were the ones that intercepted the bomb threat, which looked to be the work of one individual, not the entire Grottian delegatio-”

“Don’t tell me you actually believe that cover-up!” Dako interrupted again. “You may be a weak species, but I was certain you weren’t so naïve.”

“Are you really going to demonize an entire group based on the actions of a minority?”

Dako barked out an unforgiving laugh. “You expect me to believe the superior officer of a saboteur when he says he had no idea?” He turned on his heel and walked back across the room, his back to Shannon. “Surely you’d have more sense than that if they let you into a command position, girl.”

Shannon bit her tongue to hold back the vitriol that had been bubbling to the surface, now ready to burst out in one career-ending flood. The taste of blood drew her thoughts inward and she clenched her fists at her side as she watched Dako continue to pace toward the opposite wall.

_I didn’t ask for this stupid position, you loathsome son of a bitch. No one ever taught me how to be diplomatic or pragmatic in the face of life-altering situations. I’m a scientist, not a leader! I’d rather be studying the intricacies of the psyche or examining the growth of cultures across a system, not--_

Shannon released the tension in her clenched fists as a realization dawned on her: She’d seen this all before.

_Hang on. This isn’t any different from a case study. I have a subject, I have a stimulus, and I have a reaction. I may not be able to turn the tides immediately, but there’s definitely a better way to do this._

“You know what?” Shannon responded as Dako turned around, his face now a dark shade of burnt orange. “You’re right. On several accounts actually.”

Dako’s even footsteps faltered as he looked up from the mid-distance where his gaze had been fixed. He said nothing, but his expression relaxed almost imperceptibly.

“I don’t share your perspective on the Grottians, historically or presently, so naturally, we’re bound to have different opinions on what the reality of the situation and the inherent danger presented by it is.” Shannon watched as Dako resumed his pacing, his eyes trained on her now and his footsteps falling lighter and more decisively than before. She continued: “Secondly, while my experience in this particular area of engagement is a bit more withdrawn, I’m not wandering blindly. I understand your hesitation to believe the Grottian captain and were I in your position, I’m sure I’d feel the same way. _However_ , unless he’s a very well-trained liar, his expression was unmistakable. He had no idea Irava had decided to take matters into her own hands.”

Silence dominated the floor for several uncomfortable seconds as Captain Dako made his way back to stand in front of Shannon. It was the same faceoff stance they’d occupied only minutes before, but the atmosphere in the room had shifted. The negotiation was in Federation hands now, regardless of whether or not Dako had realized it.

“Assuming I had cause to believe your assessment of Kimal, why should it matter what his intentions were? One of his subordinates not only attempted assassination but planted false evidence to incriminate one of my men.” Dako folded his arms across his chest and grimaced. “If he were a trustworthy captain, he would have had control over the actions of his crew.”

“Surely, you and I understand better than anyone else on this ship how unpredictable the actions of driven individuals can be. The Antithenai are a perfect example of that. You wouldn’t have us judge every Strux by their actions against the Federation, would you?”

Dako’s scowl deepened and he huffed, breaking eye contact for the first time since he’d come to a halt in front of Shannon.

“Every social group has its outliers, and I believe that Irava was just that, an outlier. Her crewmates and captain appeared to have been just as thoroughly shocked by her sudden exposition as you and your crew were.” Shannon backed up and gestured to the couch as she sat down. Dako hesitated a moment before taking a seat next to her, arranging themselves as they had during their first conversation shortly after the two delegations had arrived onboard.

“How did the device get onto your ship?” He asked. His tone was genuinely inquisitive, the defensive edge from earlier now gone. “I would have thought your ship’s sensors or at least an inspection upon arrival would have detected an explosive.”

“We had the same thought.” Shannon relaxed her posture and opened her shoulders to him, leaning against the back of the couch and lowering her defenses nonverbally, encouraging him to do the same. _Just a little at a time._ “The crate we found in Ghravis’ quarters that contained a disassembled device was packed with soil. It looks like high concentrations of metal compounds in the dirt threw off our sensors and masked the threat within. It was a crude form of concealment, but it worked unsettlingly well.”

“Indeed,” Dako grumbled, also relaxing his shoulders and shifting slightly. His skin had reverted back to its natural shade of tangerine. “How do we know there aren’t more of these devices hidden elsewhere on the ship?”

“We figured out how to track the signals after we found a listening device burrowed in one of the plants. Once we had that part of the puzzle solved and the contraband in hand, sweeping the frequencies and adjusting the ship’s scanners was easy. We’re certain there’s nothing else stashed away anywhere on _Babel_.”

“How certain?” Dako asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Approximately ninety-nine point nine-nine percent,” Shannon said with the smallest of smiles.

Dako did not return the expression, but his piercing black stare softened slightly. Silence followed once more and the hum of the ship pulsated through the hull as _Babel_ held its orbit around the contested planet. Outside the windows of the captain’s VIP quarters, the uninhabitable orb rotated slowly, flaring and gleaming in dazzling shades of sapphire and flame.

“How do we move forward from this?” He finally asked, also looking out over the planet below.

“Like it never happened,” Shannon responded, her voice soft against the lull of the engines.

Dako turned and stared, questioning but unspeaking.

“If you and your delegation call off the negotiations and abandon these first steps toward a peaceful collaboration between your two people, Irava has won. Her goal was to have the animosity live on and the hatred between the Strux and the Grottians continue indefinitely.” Shannon watched as Dako’s attention turned from the planet below back to her. “Think of it this way. After what happened, the Grottians are sure to be more driven than ever to come to an agreement, if only to prove their dedication in the face of Irava’s treachery. You and your crew would be laying the foundation for a new era and opening up a new trade outlet for dilithium. Success is practically guaranteed at this point as long as you walk back into that room and resume your seat at the table.”

_That’s all it takes._

Captain Dako drew in a long slow breath and let his eyes wander slowly across the room, settling on the middle distance between the couch and the door. Still, he said nothing. The quiet of the room, which had been so comforting, now felt heavy, laden with anticipation for what would happen next. Shannon focused on maintaining steady, even breaths.

Finally, Dako stood. “Tell your captain that we will be ready to resume negotiations with the remainder of the Grottian delegation at their earliest convenience. I will speak to my crew and they will see reason.”

Shannon got to her feet as well and nodded. “I will take my leave then. If you find you need me for anything, you know how to reach me, Captain.”

She turned and headed for the door, pausing before it as it parted in the middle to allow her passage. Once she was certain Dako had nothing more to say, she stepped out into the hallway and listened for the soft hiss of the automatic mechanism sliding shut.

Alone in the hallway, she let out a long sigh and rolled her shoulders before making her way down the hall to her own quarters. It had been a long shift and her mind was swimming with thoughts and worries and the slightest hint of satisfaction, but nothing took form as concrete thought. As she faced her doorway and punched in the code, all her thoughts coalesced into an overwhelming sense of relief. She’d managed to sway Dako’s opinion enough that he was willing to try again. The negotiations were nearly finished, and for that, she was glad.

“It’s been a long shift,” she thought out loud as the door closed and locked behind her. From the main living space, she could see the corner of her bed and the idea of sleep suddenly seemed very inviting. Shannon removed her boots and ambled toward the bed, fatigue slowly seeping into her limbs. _All we can do now,_ she thought as she dropped herself down onto the soft mattress, _is wait._


	30. Chapter 30

“So that’s that, then, I guess,” Jessica said, leaning against the wall in sickbay. “Doctor Dupont said you’re healthy?”

“That’s what she told me, despite the fact that I feel like I’ve been hit by a train.” Jeremy rubbed at his temples. “The doc said it would wear off over the next twelve hours or so. I just hope she’s right. My worst hangover was nothing compared to this.”

She tried to stifle a laugh and ended up with a giggle. “You must not have been much of a partier at the Academy, then. Come on, let’s hit Ten-Forward and find you something to knock the rest of it out of your system.”

“You don’t know that,” he said, getting up from where he sat on the biobed. “Maybe I’m just really good at holding my liquor. Either way, I’d rather debate that subject in Ten-Forward than under the nose of a medical professional.”

Jessica helped him to his feet and the pair made their way for the door just as Captain Murali entered the room. He eyed the two of them and nodded at Jeremy.

“Lieutenants. It’s good to see you up and about, Mister Caldwell.”

“I’d say it’s good to be up and about, sir,” Jeremy said with a weary smile, “ but frankly, I was more comfortable when I was unconscious.”

It was always hard to read the Captain, but as they left sickbay Jessica could have sworn she saw a smile creeping onto the old man’s face. _Maybe there’s hope for me here yet,_ she thought, with a matching smile of her own.


	31. Chapter 31

Raj watched the two depart before approaching the CMO’s office and sounding the door chime.

“Come,” came Clara’s voice from the other side. He stepped in to find the doctor deep in her coffee mug with medical readouts on her monitor and two separate PADDs. As the door closed behind him, she looked up from her reading.

“Ah, Captain,” she said, getting to her feet. “Thank you for coming at my request. I have a matter of concern to discuss with you.”

“I thought you might. Would it, by any chance, have something to do with the two officers that just left?”

Clara paused and took a sip of her coffee. “It might.” She set the mug down carefully and folded her hands in front of her on her desk. “Who specifically my concerns apply to is subject to professional confidentiality. Please,” she gestured to the chair opposite her, “sit.”

She waited a moment for Raj to take his seat before continuing. “I am concerned that one of my patients is being less than honest with me, Raj. Normally, I wouldn’t mind a bit of skirting the truth, but I feel that the person in question is leaving out a rather significant detail.”

“Clara,” Raj replied, keeping his voice steady. “There’s a difference between lying about a holodeck injury and lying about something that affects the safety of the crew. If you think that one of them is lying about something dangerous, I am entitled to that information.”

“If I knew what the patient in question was lying about, we wouldn’t be having this discussion,” she responded flatly. “The patient has been cared for and is on the mend, and I don’t believe the omission is putting anyone at risk, but someone -- or multiple someones -- are not giving me the full story.” Clara paused for a moment but evidently had more to say, so Raj simply waited for her to continue. “I don’t believe there is any pressing danger, but I don’t like the feeling that one of my patients is being dishonest with me, especially in light of recent events.”

Raj leaned forward in his chair and paused for a moment. “Doctor... Clara, do you remember our conversation a few days ago? You’re right, of course, about Jess and Jeremy lying to you. I don’t know the details either, but I get the impression that something happened that the two of them don’t particularly want the rest of the crew to know about. That’s none of my business, of course, but as far as how it affects the mission...”

He shook his head. “Clara, you told me that if I don’t trust my crew, everyone suffers for it, and you were right when you said it. The mission was a success, in no small part due to their efforts. If there was a mistake made along the way, I’m choosing to trust that they learned from it.”

Clara sighed. “My gut tells me to latch onto things like that because everyone knows you’re not supposed to lie to your doctor. Even if the skepticism is borne out of concern, I need to learn to let people be. They’ll talk to me if there’s a problem beyond what the scans can read.” As she spoke, her eyes found their way down to her coffee cup, watching as she swirled the remaining liquid in the mug. “You know, why don’t I take you up on that drink offer?” she added suddenly. “I haven’t had good off-duty conversation in ages.”

“Well now,” he said with a smile, “it looks like we can find some common ground after all.”

**The adventures of the _USS Babel_ will continue...**


End file.
